Not ANOTHER Time Travel Fic?
by The Dutchman
Summary: A 173 old Harry Potter travels back in time to hopefully undo the mistakes of the past. Will contain Weasley bashing and a manipulative, but not evil Dumbledore. This is AU, but will follow canon, somewhat.
1. Prologue

Prologue

March 23, 2153

It was a beautiful day in Scotland. There was still snow on the ground, but the sun was out and it was warm, only -1 Celsius. Unusual for this time of the year. Almost as if nature wanted to give the two old men in the office one last good day together.

They both sat in over stuffed chairs facing one another, with a table in between. On the table were piles of parchment, some of them ancient, while others looked brand new. Each had a drink in their hands, single malt Scotch. This was something the older of the two tried in honor of his former Professor, and liked the drink so much, for the rest remainder of his life, he never drank anything else.

"Well, that's the last of it," he said putting down a scroll. "Now all I can hope is that it works."

"Are you sure you want to do this? There's still time you know. We can destroy all the notes and nobody will ever know." He pleaded. "You know the moment you start this ritual, the Ministry will know and be on you within minutes. Not even your fame and influence will save you."

"I know, but I'll have enough time to finish it. That's all I need. After they take me all I have to do is stall them for 30 minutes, and I think I still have enough 'fame and influence' as you put it to still do that." he said with small smile. "The Ministry will want to find out just what I've done and why, and by the time they get around to giving me veritaserum, it will hopefully be too late for them to do anything. I'll be gone"

"But what if it doesn't work? You'll die! They'll either have you thrown through the veil for even attempting it, or the ritual itself will kill you," the younger man pleaded, tears now slowly dripping down his cheeks. Something that hadn't happen for over 20 years. Not since the death of his wife. "I don't want to lose you."

"I'm 173 years old Teddy." He finally said. "Even in our world I'm considered damn near ancient. Besides, we both know that even without attempting this, I don't have that much time left."

Teddy started to reply but stopped as the old man held his hand up. "If this works, everything will be changed…and if it doesn't, all our world will lose is an old man that should have had the good sense to die in his bed years ago."

Teddy hung his head, but after a few moments he looked up into the still strikingly green eyes of the man in front of him. "Alright, I won't say any more. I better than anyone should know not to try to get you to change your mind once it's made up. "

The old man chuckled and said, "I think your father would have said that you'd have an easier time knocking down the White Cliffs of Dover with a beaters bat."

"When are you going to attempt it?"

"I'm leaving in a few moments. He said. "Right now. " he replied draining his glass. "I just wanted to finish my drink. Minerva would haunt me throughout eternity if she found out I let a 100 year old single malt go to waste."

As both of them stood, he drew his wand and said "I have just two more things to do." and waved the wand gracefully. As he did a faint blue light enveloped them both, and Teddy felt control of the wards pass to him.

After the light faded, the old man said, "You are the Headmaster now Teddy. No matter what happens tonight, protect my students."

Teddy nodded and replied "With my life. But what was the other thing you had to do?"

"Alas, something you won't like," and then without warning said "Obliviate!"

Teddy, taken by surprise, felt his mind cloud as the powerful spell him.

"You will remember all the things you did to help me Teddy, but will believe that I had to use the Imperius curse to get you to do what I wanted. When the Ministry questions you, you will tell them you tried with all your power to fight it but weren't strong enough. Sit down please Teddy"

When Teddy had sat down in the chair, the old man continued, "You will remain here for one hour and then wake up. I have left a full confession, along with my will in the top drawer of my…..your desk. I'm sorry, but this is the only way to protect you."

With another flick of his wand, all the parchment on the table flashed into ash. Satisfied, he walked to the door. But before leaving, turned back and looked around the office and then finally at the man sitting in the chair.

"Goodbye Teddy. Never forget how much I love you. You were the son I never had. Remus and Dora would be so proud of you."

The old man left the office and walked down the many flights of stairs to the exit. With a flick of his wand, the doors opened and allowed him to pass through. He walked slowly down the long path to the main gates, but before passing through them, he turned back one last time. He knew if things went pear shaped tonight, he would never see the castle again.

"Goodbye Hogwarts. I hope we meet again."

He passed through the gates and with a soft pop, Harry Potter disappeared.

When Harry re-appeared he found himself 2 miles west of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire. Looking up, he spotted his destination, the monolithic stone circle of Stonehenge. As he walked to the site, he was going over the preparations he had to make before he started. Teddy wasn't wrong when he said the Ministry would be here within minutes of him starting. His wards had to hold long enough for him to complete the ritual. After that he just had to stay alive the 30 minutes it took for it to activate.

Harry started casting ward upon ward, placing the whole site in a dome of power. He didn't want the wards to harm the Aurors when they arrived, so instead of one ward that would reflect spells back at them, he cast multiple layered ones that while weaker, wouldn't harm anyone but should give him the time he needed.

Finally the last ward was set and a very tired Harry Potter sat down to rest on one of the smaller stones for a few moments. He had done more magic this night than in the last 10 years. After 10 minutes, he felt better, and getting up, walked to the center of the circle.

He reached into his robes and took out a small silver knife. He drew the blade across the palm of his hand, cutting a long gash in it. Blood began to pool in his hand almost at once, but just before it would have overflowed, he turned his hand and the blood flowed out, dripping to the ground.

Harry then started to chant in a language few remembered, and even fewer knew. In fact the last time it was heard, it was used by a long forgotten muggle film director in a movie he made about Christ. Ancient Aramaic.

Even as Harry continued to chant, he heard the popping sounds of Ministry Aurors arriving.

"In the name of the Ministry of Magic, stop what you're doing and surrender!" One of them shouted, but when Harry made no move to stop what he was doing, the Auror turned to the rest and said. "Take down those wards, NOW!"

Spell fire started raining down on the dome as the Aurors shot everything they had to try and overpower them. Meanwhile, Harry continued to chant. Finally after another 5 minutes, a white glow descended and enveloped the former Headmaster.

At almost the same time as the light appeared, the dome finally collapsed.

"I did it." Harry thought, as 4 stunners hit him in the chest, and everything went black.

When Harry awoke, he found himself sitting up, chains on his arms and legs. He looked around and recognized the place immediately. Courtroom 10. Merlin he hated this place. He looked up to see the Minister of Magic, Harold Pinter sitting in the first row of seats.

"Harry James Potter, you are charged with violation of section 2 of the International Temporal Constructs. Attempting to open an unauthorized time portal. How do you plead?"

_Unauthorized?_ Harry thought. _They think I tried but failed. Good. This may buy me some time_. "I plead guilty Minister. But if I may, I'd like to tell you why." Harry spoke slowly, "you must let me make another attempt. Our whole world is at stake if you don't."

Pinter thought for a few moments then finally said. "Very well, explain."

"Voldemort is back Minister. He has gotten another body, and if you don't let me go back in time, he will destroy us all." Harry lied.

Pinter paled slightly but recovered. "Voldemort is dead. You killed him over 150 years ago. What kind of bullshit are you trying to pull Potter?"

_Keep it going Harry. Keep him off balance. Stall._

"I assure you Minister, he is back. I missed one of his horcruxes, a horcruxe one of his worshipers found before I did. They brought him back the same way they did before. Only this time he's ten times as powerful. Going back in time is the only way to destroy it."

"How far did you intend to go back?" Pinter asked.

"50 years Minister. The horcruxe was protected by a time delay charm that finally released 50 years ago, so even if I had known about it before, I couldn't have gotten to it. You MUST let me go back!"

Harry tried to put a pleading tone into his voice so the Minister would at least consider it. The longer he thought, the better.

Finally after seeming to give the matter great thought, which was saying something Harry thought. Pinter wasn't a bad person like Fudge was, but he wasn't the sharpest needle on the tree either, he said "Headmaster Potter, you have lost your mind. What could possibly…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you Minister, but I am no longer Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"That's the understatement of the year. When word of this gets out, you'll be sacked immediately."

"No, no Minister. You misunderstood me. I resigned as Headmaster tonight and passed control of Hogwarts to my Deputy Headmaster. Professor Lupin." _Stall them, stall them. _"I knew I couldn't do this without leaving the school protected if I failed. Voldemort could have waltzed right in."

"Enough of this!" Pinter shouted. "Voldemort is dead and gone. Now, what were you really going to do?"

"Minister, I beseech you. I have been planning this for seven years. You must allow me to complete my mission. It's my destiny, as foretold by prophecy. "

"Seven years? Was there anyone else helping you?"

Harry remained silent thinking_ Good, he thinks I'm balmy. Just a bit longer._

"Mr. Potter, if you don't answer me right now I will have the Aurors dose you with Veritaserum and we'll get our answers that way."

Harry feigned a defeated sigh, and said, "I asked Professor Lupin to help me it, but he refused. He said that this was more than just bending the law, and that he thought because of my age, I was having delusions of seeing Voldemort. He even told me that he thought it was time for me to retire." _Almost there, just a few more moments._

"But he must have helped you. You couldn't have done it by yourself." Pinter said.

"Yes he helped, but not willingly. I couldn't let him interfere, and killing him was out of the question. He is my godson after all. So I used the Imperius curse to force him to help me."

Pinter stared at him.

"You must understand Minister, I didn't want to do it, but his mastery of _Arithmancy and_ Ancient Runes are second to none. I only did it for the greater good of us all."

"You're telling me you put your own godson under the Imperius curse so you could complete this crackpot scheme of yours? I've heard enough of this. I find you guilty on all counts, and sentence you to be cast through the veil immediately. Guards!"

But as he was calling for the guards, a white light once again formed and started to descend around Harry."

"Stop him! Stop him. He's trying to escape. Kill him now! He can't be allowed to get loose. He too dangerous."

Nearly all of the Auror guards hesitated. All but one. Auror William Cantrel was new to the force. He had been in the magical detachment of the Royal Marines, and all he knew was that the Minister had just given him a direct order. He training took over.

He raised his wand and shouted "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry was now fully enveloped in the white light when the green curse hit him in the chest. There was a blinding flash as the Ministry of Magic building exploded in a firestorm. Had anyone been left alive in the building, or in the surrounding area, they would have seen a blast, the likes of which had not been seen in over 235 years. Not since December 6, 1917, the day a munitions ship exploded in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia, destroying ¾ of the city, and killing over 2000 people.

August 30, 1991. 2:33 am.

Number Four Privet Drive

Harry Potter woke up immediately as a brilliant flash of light filled his room. He grabbed for his glasses, and after putting them on, saw that there on the floor in front of his bed was a small boy. A boy with messy black hair. He watched as the boy slowly got to his feet, using the bed to steady himself. Harry wanted to say something. To ask this person who he was, but he found that he couldn't say a word.

The messy haired boy in question had his back to the bed, but instantly recognized where he was. _I did it._ he thought. _I made it back alive. I thought it was all over when that killing curse hit me but the time ritual must have protected me from it. I just hope I got the date right. _

He was going to start looking for a calendar, but was surprised when a light in the room turned on. He spun around and looked right into a pair of brilliant green eyes. His eyes.

"Oh shit!" he said, and collapsed.

A/N: I'll be honest with all of you. I have no training in creative writing, so I don't know if this story will be finished or not. I will try my best to do so, but expect slow updates, for a good while anyway.

Thanks.

TD


	2. Chapter 1 Harry Meets Harry

A/N: For clarity sake, (yeah right, I can feel the headache starting already) "old" Harry or Harry from the future, will be referred to as Harry2, and the younger one will simply be Harry.

Chapter 1 – Harry Meets Harry

Harry flew out of bed and rushed over to the fallen boy. He was laying face down on the floor and not moving. _He looks like he's fainted _Harry thought. Kneeling down, he turned him over, but was un-prepared for what he saw.

What he saw was a boy who looked exactly like him, right down to the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. _It's like I'm looking in a mirror. _He thought. He glanced at the boys right arm and saw a fading bruise, a bruise he himself also had because of his cousin Dudley hitting him last week.

"This can't be happening." He said "I must still be asleep and I'm dreaming. I'll just get back in bed and in the morning when I wake up he'll be gone and I probably won't even remember this." But as he started to get up he heard a soft groan coming from the boy on the floor.

"What…what happened?" he asked and then opened his eyes. They locked onto Harry who was still kneeling beside him. "Oh shit. Oh God damnit!" he said when he saw him, "the AK must have interfered with the transference. I came back, but instead of melding, I came back as a separate Harry Potter.

Harry didn't have a clue what the boy was talking about, but he was scared. This can't be normal, even in this new wizards world that giant man told him about. Meanwhile the boy on the floor was muttering something about temporal fluxes and a whole lot of other stuff Harry didn't understand . But he knew one thing, he had to get this kid to shut up before he woke his aunt and uncle, or all hell would break loose.

"Be quiet!" Harry hissed. "Or you'll wake my Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, and believe me, that's something you don't want to do."

To his surprise, the boy stopped talking. But just as quickly as he stopped, he started again, but this time much quieter. "Harry, what year is this? What's the date?"

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Harry asked.

"That doesn't matter for the moment. What matters is the date, What is it?"

Harry thought for a moment then glanced at his clock. It showed that it was well after midnight. "August 30." He said, "Now who are you?"

"August 30? What year Harry, what year?"

"1991. Now are you going to answer my question? Who the hell are you?"

"I'm you Harry. I'm Harry Potter."

"What do you mean you're me? You can't be me. I'm me!" Harry shouted, forgetting all about his aunt and uncle. "There can't be two of us! What do you think I am, stupid?"

"Harry," Harry2 started to say, but he was interrupted by a loud booming voice Harry2 hadn't heard in over 100 years.

"BOY!" shouted Vernon Dursley, and Harry2 heard his uncle stomping down the hallway to the bedroom.

"Harry listen to me. We don't have much time. Tell Uncle Vernon you had a nightmare. Tell him you're sorry for waking him up. But whatever you do, don't tell him about me. I swear, I'll explain everything when he's gone."

Before Harry could answer, the boy waved his hand over himself and he seemed to vanish, just as his bedroom crashed open. There in the doorway stood his uncle looking angrier than Harry had seen him in a long time.

"BOY, WHAT THE HELL IS THE MEANING OF ALL THIS NOISE? IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT."

"I'm…I'm sorry Uncle Vernon. I had a nightmare. I didn't mean to shout out." Harry said. "I won't do it again."

"Oh you better believe you won't do it again." Said Vernon Dursley, as he advanced on Harry.

"I've had all I can take from you little freak. First all those letters," Vernon said grabbing Harry by the hair and pulling him to a standing position. "Then those effing owls all over the house."

As Vernon said this he punched Harry in the ribs, causing him to let out a yell of pain as he felt something break.

"Then that giant bloody bastard coming after us, threatening us and giving Dudley that tail." Vernon punched Harry in the ribs again, breaking another rib. "Well I've had it. If I hear another sound tonight from you, I'll make sure you never make another one."

Vernon, still holding Harry up by his hair now shook him. "Do you understand me boy?'

"Yes Sir. I won't make any more noise. I promise."

Vernon Dursley flung Harry on the floor and then stomped out of the room. Slamming the door behind him.

Harry2 watched all this unfold from the corner of the small bedroom. He had only just managed to cast a wandless invisibility charm on himself and get into the corner of the room before his uncle had practically kicked the door open. But it was when Vernon had punched Harry in the ribs that he almost lost it. Vernon Dursley never found out just how close he came to dying that night.

Harry2 quietly went to the now whimpering boy. "_Muffliato__**.**_" He said as he knelt down. "Oh Harry I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." He said. "Let me see how bad it is. I can help."

Cringing. Harry said "I'm okay, and don't make any more noise. I don't want him to come back." Harry said, holding his side.

"No you're not okay. I heard your ribs break from across the room, and don't worry about the noise. I cast a charm that blocks all sounds from this room. Now let me see. I really can help. Please."

Slowly, Harry let his arm fall to his side and let Harry2 push his pajama top up. A massive bruise was already starting to form.

"Harry this is bad. You've got at least two broken ribs, maybe three. Try to lie back straight. Harry summoned the pillow from Harry's bed a placed it under the boys head.

"I'm going to fix your ribs, and after I do they'll be as good as new, but it's going to hurt when they first straighten out alright?" Harry nodded that he understood. "If you want to yell it's okay too. Uncle Vernon won't hear you because of the silencing charm." Harry nodded again. "Just do it. It's getting hard to breath."

Harry2 held his hand over Harry's ribcage and a flash of yellow light hit him in the chest. Harry gasped, but otherwise didn't make a sound.

_Was I really that used to pain?_ Harry2 thought, watching the boys reaction. _That must have hurt like a bitch, but he never even cried out._

"How are you feeling?" Harry2 asked his younger self.

"Better. Thank you." Harry answered. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," Harry2 said, "learned on the battlefield."

"What battlefield? You still haven't told me who you are, and don't give me that garbage about you being me."

Harry2 considered his younger self . _What do I tell him? and how much do I tell him? Can he take the truth? _All these thoughts were running through Harry2's head when he heard the boy say. "I'm waiting. Who are you?"

"Alright Harry, I'll tell you everything. You do have a right to know after all.

My name is Harry James Potter. I was born on July 31, 1980 to James and Lilly Potter….and I'm from the future, 162 years in the future."

Harry looked at the boy in front of him. "That's mental! You're mental! You can't be more than 11 or 12 years old."

"This body," Harry2 began, putting his hand on his chest, "is 11 years old. But my mind is 173. I used a magical ritual to allow me to travel back it time to my younger self, but I was able to keep all my knowledge and abilities. So I'm both 11 and 173 at the same time."

"Okay." Harry said. "I'm not saying I believe you, because this would be weird even for Dr. Who. But lets say you're telling the truth. Why would you come back in time? I can't believe it's just to see me."

"I came back to stop a war."

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmasters Office.

It was late, but Albus Dumbledore was still at his desk, reading through the list of 1st year students that would be starting Hogwarts in two days. As he scanned down the list he saw some names he immediately recognized. One of those names was Draco Malfoy.

_Oh wonderful. I get to tolerate Lucius Malfoy's offspring for the next seven years. Lucky me._ He thought. _I'll have to remember to tell Severus tomorrow not to let the boy get away with too much._

He continued scanning down the list till he got to the name he was looking for. Harry Potter. _Finally_, he thought. _Harry's finally coming to Hogwarts. I just hope James and Lilly will be able to forgive me for I have to do._

There was a sudden screech behind him and Dumbledore turned to look at the large red and gold phoenix that was on a perch next to his desk. "I'm sorry Fawkes, but you know I have no choice. It's the only way to finally rid the world of him."

Dumbledore rose from his desk and went to stroke Fawkes's head but the phoenix screeched at him again and disappeared in a ball of flame. Dumbledore sighed.

_At least he should have an easier life here at Hogwarts than he had with his aunt and uncle_. He thought. _I hated putting him there with them knowing how they'd treat him, but I needed the boy cowed so that I could guide him to his destiny._

He continued reading until near the end, he saw the name Ronald Weasley. He tried to remember what the boy was like. He'd seen him a few times when he was at the Burrow, but every time he did he seemed to be stuffing his face with food. _Oh well_, he thought. _They can't all be winners, and with seven children, there was bound to be at least one worm in the apple barrel. I'm just glad there aren't more like him. We'd have to raise our tuition to cover the costs of the extra food. _

Suddenly he was startled out of his thoughts by a sharp *ping* from the other side of his office. He looked up at the table next to the large picture window and to the instruments on it. There were about six of these very strange looking devices there, each of them moving in some way, with one even giving off small puffs of blue smoke. Dumbledore frowned. _What's happened now?_ he thought, as he got up and walking over to the table. _There's only two more day till he gets her. _

Dumbledore pick up one of the strange looking objects, and gazed at it intensely. Normally this small object monitored the state of Harry health, and as he looked down he saw that Harry had been in pain for a short time, and so the alarm had gone off. But a few moments later the readings had returned to normal, so the boy appeared to be okay.

_Probably fell out of bed or something like that. But he's not hurt._

_Thank Merlin for that, cause the last thing I need is him being hurt and then having to have Poppy go and heal him like last time._

-BEGIN FLASKBACK-

Dumbledore was reading a letter from the Board of Governors when the alarm had gone off, and by the sound of it, it was serious. He grabbed the small instrument and looked at it to see that Harry had been hurt, and was in distress. He rushed to the floo and throwing a small pinch of powder into it he called out "Madame Pomfrey, come to my office immediately. I have an emergency I need your help with."

"I'll be right there Headmaster" she replied, and rushed out of the hospital wind and up to the Headmasters office. She met Dumbledore as he was coming down the hall with a quill in his hand. "Albus, what happened? Are you hurt?" she asked. "No not me Poppy. Harry Potter has been injured somehow. I need you to go with me to where he's staying in case it's serious."

"I've never understood why you put the lad there Albus. Surely you could have found someplace more suitable?" she asked. "Not now Poppy," he said as he pulled out his wand. "_Portus_" he said touching the quill. "Let us go and see what has happened shall we?"

Poppy touched the quill and Dumbledore said "_Activate._" and they were gone.

The two re-appeared just inside the front door at Privet Drive, an event which caused Petunia Dursley, who had been looking right in that direction, to scream out in fright. "What are you doing in my house?" shouted Vernon as he rushed to his wife's side. "I won't have you people just popping into this house whenever you please. Now get the hell out before I call the police."

"Mr. Dursley, we are here because Harry has been hurt. Please take us to him."

Vernon Dursley appeared to be worried, but said "He's not here right now. He's out at the park."

"Mr. Dursley," began Dumbledore, "I know Harry is here. We can detect his presence in the house. Now step aside. We want to see how he is." But Vernon Dursley didn't answer. Dumbledore took out his wand and waved it in the air.

"Over here Poppy," he said pointing to the small door leading to the cupboard under the stairs.

When they got the door open, which was quickly accomplished despite the very large padlock on the door, they found a small unconscious boy on the floor inside. He had been beaten very badly and judging by the angle it was lying in, had a broken leg.

Poppy levitated him gently out of the small room and into the hall, and did a scanning charm on him to see how badly he was hurt. She didn't like what she found. "Albus, Harry's leg is broken in two places, and he has heavy bruises on his upper chest. We have to get him to St. Mungo's immediately."

"We can't do that Poppy. It's far too dangerous for him. He must remain here where he'll be protected." Poppy Pomfrey was furious. "Protected from whom? Obviously not these people. This wasn't an accident Albus. This boy was deliberately beaten." She almost screamed.

Dumbledore looked at Vernon Dursley and said. "Mr. Dursley, how did this happen?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

Vernon Dursley started to sputter. "I was protecting myself and my family." He finally said. "Look at this." He added pointing to the wall where there was a large crack and indentation. "The little freak did something and threw Dudley into the wall so hard it broke."

"And what did your son do to deserve being thrown into the wall? Accidental magic doesn't just happen. It only manifests itself in time of danger or extreme stress." Replied Dumbledore, his calm demeanor starting to slip.

"I don't know what he did, and I don't care. I won't have that kind of abnormality in this house. I won't have it!" Vernon Dursley shouted."

Dumbledore sighed and waved his wand. Vernon Dursley eyes glazed over and he went silent. Finally he looked at the old Headmaster and said, "Can I help you Mr.…Mr., I'm sorry. I didn't get your name." "Dumbledore," the Headmaster replied, "and no. We were just leaving. Poppy?"

Poppy Pomfrey came to his side with a look of disgust on her face, but she didn't say anything…until they were outside.

"Albus Dumbledore. That boy is being severely abused. In fact he was stomped on. The fat bastards footprints was still on his clothes! How can you leave him here?"

"Poppy, I have no choice. It's the safest place for him."

"Safest place for him?" She asked incredulously. "Albus, his leg was broken in two places, and he had a cracked collarbone. If you call that safe then I think it's time for you to have your bloody head examined. When Minerva hears about this…"

"Alas I'm sorry Poppy, but I cannot allow that." and with a another swish of his wand, Poppy Pomfrey fell silent.

After a moment he asked, "So Poppy, how is Harry doing?"

"Poppy Pomfrey smiled and said "He's doing wonderfully Albus. I've never seen a child so happy. Minerva told me when you first left him here that she thought you were making a mistake, but I can see that she was wrong."

Dumbledore smiled. "That's good. I'm glad he's happy."

They continued walking till they reached the edge of the outer wards, then both of these strange looking people simply vanished into the night.

-END FLASKBACK-

Dumbledore sighed again. _Well at least I never had to do that again._ He thought.

_Poppy fixed his injuries and a few well placed memory charms for everyone, along with a compulsion charm for the Durselys fixed all the problems._

"What do you mean you came back to stop a war? What war?" Harry asked.

Harry2 was silent for a moment, then said. "A wizarding war. Or rather a _second _ wizarding war."

"Huh? When was the first?

"Okay, this is going to take a while Harry. Please don't interrupt me till I've finished. Then I'll try to answer whatever questions you have alright?"

Harry nodded.

"You remember the bad wizard that Hagrid told you about the other day? The one who killed our parents?"

"Yes, but what has he got to do with all this. He's dead."

"No Harry, he's not dead." Harry2 replied. Not really."

"I don't understand. How can you be dead and not dead? Harry asked. "What is he then, a ghost?"

"No he's not a ghost, but in a way you're close. He's a disembodied spirit. His body died, but his spirit remains, and is trying to find a way to come back. Which he'll be able to do in a few more years. But we'll get to that later. Haeey2 said. "You remember how Hagrid told you that this wizard went bad and then along with his followers tried to take over the wizarding world?"

Again Harry nodded yes.

"Well he almost succeeded. In fact the light side was losing so badly that they couldn't have held out more than a few more months. But then he made a mistake. He tried to kill you…or us actually. He broke into our house, killed our parents, but when he tried to kill us, his curse rebounded on him and destroyed his body."

Harry2 paused. "That happened on October 31, 1981, and ended the first war. His followers split up and tried to blend back into the Wizarding world as if nothing happened."

"So that's what you want to stop?" Harry asked.

"No, I want to stop what happened after. You see, he managed to come back fourteen years later, and the war started all over again. But this time it lasted over 30 years. We won in the end, but not before half the people in the wizarding world were dead. But the war didn't just affect the wizarding world, but the muggle world as well was devastated. In all, the war cost more than 14 million lives, and destroyed most of Britain."

Harry was about to say something, but Harry2 held up his hand. "Including all our friends and family, except one."

Harry, in a voice barely above a whisper asked "Who was left?"

"Our godson Teddy. But he won't be born yet for another 7 years, and like us, he lost both his parents before he knew them."

Harry looked at the strange boy in front of him, and could clearly see the pain on his face as he told his story.

Harry2 continued. "So I decided that I would find a way to go back and change things. I knew that ancient wizards discovered a way to travel in time, but their rituals were lost long ago, and it took me nearly 60 years to figure it out, even with Teddy helping me. But I finally did. I re-discovered how they did it, but things didn't go exactly as I had planned."

"What do you mean they didn't go as you planed? What went wrong?"

"I was supposed to come back and merge with you into one person. We would have had all my memories of the future, as well as my power and knowledge. But as I said, it didn't go as planned, and I ended up as a separate Harry Potter."

After a while, Harry asked. "So what happens now? Will you just get rid of me and take my place?" Harry asked, afraid of the answer.

"Merlin no Harry! Harry2 said. "How could you even ask that? I couldn't do that to an eleven year old no matter what the benefits to out world. I AM NOT ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!"

"Albus who?" Harry asked.

"Albus, two many middle names, Dumbledore." Harry2 replied. "The Wizard who put us here after our parents were killed. He thinks that we're the only one who can finally kill Voldemort, and he's been manipulating us our entire lives so that we will." Harry2 said bitterly, "and if we die doing it, then that's okay because it will have been for the greater good."

Harry2 looked at his younger self. The boy looked like he was in shock.

"I'm not explaining this very well am I?" he asked. "I'm sorry. I never expected to have to. I figured that after we merged, you'd be able to just take the information from my memories and see what happened for yourself."

"Why didn't we merge then. Did you do something wrong? Harry asked.

"No I didn't do anything wrong, the ritual worked perfectly. But something happened as I was starting to be sent back. I was hit by the killing curse."

"Was it Teddy?" asked Harry.

"No." Harry2 answered. It was the Ministry of Magic trying to stop me. I think it altered the ritual in some way, sending me back, but as a separate person."

"Ministry of Magic? They're your government aren't they?" Harry asked.

"Yes, and the reason they tried to stop me was that what I was doing was illegal. Very illegal. Nobody is supposed to try and alter time. There's too much danger of mistakes being made and having things end up worse than they were before."

"Then why did you do it." Harry asked.

Harry2 smiled, but Harry saw that it wasn't a happy smile. "How much worse could I make them? At the end of the second war our world was in ruins. It took nearly 100 years for us to get back to the point we were at before the war. No, this was the only way to try and save everything."

"Okay, I see what you mean. But what now?" Harry asked.

Harry2 sighed. "I have no idea. I knew what I was going to do before, but with us being separate, I'm going to have to think about this. We're likely going to have to get Hermione to help."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Hermione." Harry2 answered. "Hermione Granger. Called by some, the most intelligent witch to walk the halls of Hogwarts since Ravenclaw herself, and a dear friend of mine. Or ours…..when you meet her of course."

"When will I meet this Hermione?" asked Harry. Hopeful that he's have at least one friend.

"When we're on the train to Hogwarts. She'll come into our cabin looking for a toad." Harry2 said smiling.

This time Harry saw that the smile was genuine as he talked about the girl.

"Why would she be looking for a toad on a train?" asked Harry.

"Now that I'm not telling you. You have to have some surprises."

Harry2 got up and said, "Enough for tonight. You were hurt quite badly before and you should try and get some sleep. I'll make myself invisible again and sleep over in the corner in case Vernon comes back. Well talk more in the morning. I'll have to go to Diagon Alley if we're both going to Hogwarts because I'll need robes and a few other things. Plus I'll also have to teach you a few things before we go to school."

"What things? Harry asked.

"In the morning." Harry2 said. Now get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3 The Next Morning

A/N: Just a short thank you to all who sent in reviews for parts 1 and 2. I forgot to include this at the start of Chapter 1.

Chapter 2 – The Next Morning

Harry2 hardly slept the rest of the night. His mind was too busy thinking how he was going to fix the mess he and Harry were in. He had had a plan all worked out before leaving his own time, but that was now in tatters.

He had to think of a way for Harry _and_ himself to go to Hogwarts, _and_ not let anyone find out about it. Add to that the problem that he was going to need help, because he couldn't do it alone. Harry could only help him so much, and even if he got Hermione to help him, as smart as she was, she was still only eleven years old.

He knew that regardless of how old he was emotionally, he was still considered a little kid, and that people would treat him as such. So who could he trust with his secret that wouldn't betray him to the Ministry? Not Dumbledore for certain. Even if he didn't turn him in, he use blackmail to get him to do what he wanted. (For the greater good of course.) Hagrid? No. He knew Hagrid would never turn him in, but the half giant couldn't keep a secret to save his life. (or anybody else's for that matter) The Weasleys? No. Too close to Dumbledore. What he needed was someone with no ties to the Ministry, no ties to Dumbledore, and who didn't hate the Potter family.

He was still thinking who he could trust when it hit him. _Bloody hell!_ he thought. _Why didn't I think of it before? The Goblins_" They certainly had no love for the Ministry of Magic. They didn't particularly like Dumbledore, and the Potter Family had always treated them with respect whenever they had dealings with them. Plus with his knowledge of the future, he could offer them the opportunity to make a huge pile of money in exchange for helping him.

_Okay,_ he thought, _one problem solved. Now how do I get to Hogwarts and stay there hidden? _He asked himself. _Well, getting there isn't the problem, and getting in isn't a problem. But staying undetected is. _

Harry2 continued to try and think of an answer to this when he heard Harry stir. "Morning Harry," he said. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Better than last night," he answered, "Thank you again for fixing my ribs. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been here."

"Yeah well, if I hadn't been here it wouldn't have happened in the first place." Harry2 replied. "It didn't the first time around. You would have just slept through the night and gone to Kings Cross tomorrow."

Harry shrugged. "I'm used to it. " he said, and then looking as his clock said. "I better get downstairs to cook breakfast."

Harry2 stood up. "No you're not. I'm going downstairs instead, and I'll make breakfast for my _family._" Harry2 said. "And when they start to complain…..actually maybe you should come downstairs with me. I'll put an invisibility charm on you so they don't see you, and that way you can see the _fun_."

"What are you going to do to them?" he asked

"Oh, nothing fatal, or permanent, don't worry. I'm just going to put the fear of Merlin into the three of them so that hopefully they'll never say a cross word to you again, let alone raise a hand." Harry2 replied. "I think it's time to call down some thunder and lightning and zap the whole lot in the arse."

Harry grinned. "That I want to see!" he said.

"Thought you might. Here," Harry2 waved his hand and Harry seemed to disappear. "You Okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, but this is weird. I can feel my arms and legs and everything else, but I can't see them." He answered.

"That's why they call it being invisible. Just keep a distance from me because I can't see you either, and I don't want to walk into you by mistake."

Harry2 changed his clothes to look like Harry's pajamas, and then opened his door. The Dursley's were still asleep judging by the snoring sounds coming from their rooms, but he knew they would be waking up shortly. He and Harry went downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Have a seat Harry while I make something to eat." Harry2 said as he got out a skillet. "Bacon and eggs with toast and juice?" He asked.

"Sure," Harry answered. "What are you going to make for the Durselys?"

"Porridge. No milk, no sugar, just thick lumpy porridge." He said with a smile.

"But they all hate porridge," Harry started to say.

"I know." Harry2 replied with another grin, and waving his hand again, he filled a pot with water and put it on the stove to boil while at the same time bacon and eggs flew out of the refrigerator and into the skillet to cook. A few minutes later the water in the pot was boiling and he put the oats in to cook.

In all he cooked 6 eggs, half a pound of bacon, four pieces of toast, and two large glasses of orange juice for the two of them. Harry couldn't finish it all. "Don't worry about it," Harry2 said, "You're just not used to eating that's all. When you get to Hogwarts, you'll be able to eat all you want, and you'll soon be eating normal portions."

Harry2 got up, and with a wave, Harry's plate was cleaned off and back on the shelve above the sink. Then he heard a noise upstairs. "Showtime." He said to Harry. "Better get over into the corner so nobody walks into you.

Harry2 saw Harry's chair pull out then push back in. He dished out his relatives breakfast, and put a plate on top of the bowls to keep it hot. Then sat down again to finish his own. He was almost done when the three Durselys walked into the kitchen.

"Boy!" Vernon Dursley shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Eating my breakfast Uncle Vernon." Harry2 said innocently. "Yours is ready as well." Pointing to the bows on the table.

Vernon looked down at the bowl on the table. "What is this?" he asked lifting up the plate.

"I decided to make you porridge this morning. You're too fat as it is, and Dudley," he said gesturing to his cousin, "is worse. His arse is wider than the channel."

Vernon Dursley's face went from red to blue, and then to purple all within seconds. He balled up his fists and started towards the boy in front of him but Harry2 held up his hand and shouted.

"ENOUGH!"

Vernon froze, his arms and legs snapping together.

Petunia started screaming.

Dudley, in a rare moment of reason, (even a stopped clock is right twice a day) decided to do nothing. Instead he waited to see what his mother and father would do to the freak.

"Aunt Petunia, be quiet and sit down. Nobody can hear you anyway." And to his surprise she did stop screaming, but remained standing. Harry2 looked at her and said. "I said sit down," and then gesturing to Dudley, said "you too."

They both sat, never taking their eyes off Harry2. He then turned to his uncle and said. "I should really thank you for last night Uncle Vernon," he began. "You see, when you broke those two ribs, one of them punctured my lung, and between the pain and the trama, it caused my magic to break free. If I hadn't been a wizard, I'd have bled to death in the night."

Dudley's eyes went wide. He knew his father had pounded the little freak last night, but didn't think he had hurt him that badly.

"But it also did something else." Harry2 continued. "It unlocked my ability to do magic without my wand. All I have to do is think about what I want to happen and it does." Then with a wave, he released Vernon from the body bind. "So here's how it's going to be Uncle. I'll only be here 2 months out of the year, the rest of the time I'll be at school. However, when I _am_ here, you three will leave me alone, and as long as you do, I'll leave you alone. In fact, I'll even provide my own clothing and meals so it won't cost you anything."

Vernon started to started to sputter, but Harry2 held his hand up. "I'm not finished." He said, shutting Vernon up. "If you ever lay another hand on me, or ever try to," he waved his hand yet again and Vernon found himself hoisted high up into the air by his ankle so that he and Harry2 were looking at each other eye to eye. "I'll make what you did last night look like a slap on the wrist. Understand?"

"YES! YES!" Vernon yelled.

"Good." Harry2 said, and with a crash Vernon landed on the floor of the Kitchen.

Then turning to Dudley he asked, "Dudders, do you like your tail?"

Dudley didn't answer. Instead, Harry2 saw a pool of urine starting to pool under his chair.

"Nothing to say Dudley? Oh well. I guess you'd prefer to sit there in a pool of your own piss." Harry2 said with disgust, and with yet another wave, (and a big puff of blue smoke to show off) Dudley turned in a pig. Petunia started screaming again.

"Oh do shut up Aunt Petunia." Harry2 said to her. "I'm just making a point," and with another wave, Dudley returned to normal. "Next time Dudley, it will be permanent. Also, if you know what's good for you, you'll to tell all your little, _friends_ to leave me alone when I'm outside as well. Understand?"

Dudley managed to say "Yes!" before getting up from the table and running, (waddleing really) up the stairs where he locked himself in the bathroom.

"Very good. Now, I'll be out most of the day, as I have things to do and places to be. I should be back about 4pm, then I'll be in my room for the rest of the night. What you do is up to you." He started to leave, but then stopped and turned back to Vernon. "Also Uncle Vernon, you don't have to take me to Kings Cross tomorrow, or take Dudley to the Doctor. When I changed him back, I took the tail away, and I'll get to the station myself."

Harry2 strode out of the kitchen and up the stairs with Harry quietly trailing behind. After they got in their room Harry2 closed the door, and put another silencing charm on the room before doubling over in laughter. "Merlin I've wanted to have been able to for that for a hundred years!" he said to Harry, who he saw, after he removed the invisibility charm, was laughing just as hard as he was.

It took the two of them nearly fifteen minutes to calm down enough to speak.

"That was brilliant!" Harry finally said.

Smiling, Harry2 said. "Normally I don't approve of muggle baiting, but they're an exception."

"Muggle baiting?" Harry asked.

"Using magic on muggles who can't defend themselves from it." He explained. "It's actually against the law, but they deserved it."

"Last night you said that what you did coming back in time was also against the law. Is muggle baiting worse?" Harry asked.

"No Harry," He said softly. "What I did, coming back in time is worse. Much worse. For both of us."

"But why," Harry asked. "You didn't have to hurt anyone to come back did you?"

"No, nothing like that." Harry2 answered. "It's much worse because traveling back in time because you want to change things, is one of the few crimes in our world that still carries the death penalty."

Harry gasped.

"And in most cases, it's justified." Harry2 added. "It's an extremely dangerous thing to do, because even the smallest change in the time line can have drastic effects, and the farther back you go, the greater the danger to the time you came from."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Okay, think about this for a moment. You know about World War I and II right?"

Harry nodded.

"Who was the leader of Germany in World War II?"

"Hitler." Harry answered without having to think about it.

"Right. Now Hitler was also a soldier in the first World war. He was a corporal in the German Army, and he was wounded in the leg near the end of the war."

"Okay," Harry said, "but what that got to do with traveling in time?"

"Hitler was what we call a nexus, or a pivot point in time, and depending what happened to him or what he did, things could go one way or go another. Follow so far?"

"Yes."

"Now obviously he survived his wound, but what would have happened in the world if he hadn't? What if he had been killed, either by the war or someone going back in time to kill him before he started the Second World War?"

Harry thought for a moment, then said. "Well, the second war wouldn't have happened, and all the people who were killed wouldn't have been."

"Right," Harry2 said. "Go on."

"Well, they would have lived. So that would have been better, right?"

"Maybe, and maybe not." Harry2 said. Knowing how it would sound to the boy.

"How can you say that? How can you say it's a good thing that all those people died?" asked Harry.

"Harry, I didn't say that." Harry2 said. "WW II was one of the worst tragedies in human history. There were over 50 million people killed on all sides. What I want you to think about is what those 50 million would have done if they had lived, and what effect they and their children would have had on history. "

"I don't understand." Harry said.

"It's simple." Harry2 said. "One of the people that died during the war could have grown up to be a leader that could have started a war far worse than WW II, and instead of killing 50 Million, it might have wiped out all life on the planet, and all because of one event. The death of a relatively unknown soldier 70 years before. Do you understand now?"

Slowly Harry began to get it. "But then isn't it just as dangerous for you to change things? Couldn't they get worse?"

Harry2 sighed. "Yes, it's possible they could be worse this time around, but in all honestly, I don't know how."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"The second war with Voldemort lasted over twenty seven years before he was finally defeated, and by the time it was over, more than three quarters of the magical people of Britain were dead, and muggle Britain didn't fare much better. Voldemort went after their government leaders. People like the Prime Minister, the Queen and her family, anyone or any place he thought was important to them. His goal was to plunge the entire country into complete anarchy, and he di…he did."

Harry2 said, his voice breaking.

After a few moments, he went on. "The population of Britain when the war started was just over 55 million people, and when it ended, it was under 25 million. It took us 100 years to get back to the point we're at now. So I don't think my changing things could make them worse."

"But it's still illegal. Why?"

"Because they believed when the law was made that it was better to live with what was, rather than what might or could be, and that trying to change the things that were, held too many risks." Harry2 answered. "I don't know Harry. Maybe I'm just being arrogant to think that I can create a better world, that what I'm doing is _for the greater good._ But I have to try. I'm the only one who can."

Harry was silent for a long time. He thought about all he had just heard. Finally, he went over to Harry2 and said, "I'll help you any way I can. I don't want to grow up in the world you just told me about."

"Before you agree to help, there's one last thing you need to know about the laws I've broken." Harry2 told him.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"If the Ministry of today, of _this_ time, finds out what I've done, they won't just come after me, but you as well."

"Why me?" Harry asked, "I haven't done anything."

"No, you haven't. At least not yet."

"Huh?"

Harry2 smiled sadly. "They'll see me being here as proof that you'll break the Temporal Constructs law in the future, and they'll do everything in their power to prevent that from happening."

Harry looked at his doppelganger for a few moments. This was something he had never considered. Finally he said. "I'll still help. Any risk is better than the world you described."

"Thank you Harry. "

oooOOOooo

Half an hour later, Harry, with Harry2 under the invisibility charm this time, were walking down Privet Drive to the edge of the wards.

"How are we going to get to Diagon Alley anyway?" Harry asked quietly.

"We're going on the Knight Bus. You have the wizarding money I asked you to bring?"

"Right here in my pocket." Harry answered. "Along with my wand. Just like you asked."

"Good,." Harry2 said. "We'll need both."

"Why?" Harry asked. "I mean I understand the money, by why my wand? I don't know even how to use it yet."

"You have to stick out your wand to call the bus to you. But before you do, is there anybody looking us?"

Harry looked around, and seeing no one said. "No, there's nobody on the street."

"Good." Harry2 replied and with a flash, Harry2 re-appeared, only looking like a thirty something adult with brown hair, and a goatee.

"Harry? Is that you?" He asked.

Harry2 smiled. "Don't worry, it's me. I'm just wearing a glamour, or disguise. I also changed your hair color. This way we can walk around and look like father and son, or an older wizard escorting a younger one to Diagon Alley for the first time. Far better than a lone boy going around alone. Especially when we go into Knockturn Alley."

"Knockturn Alley? Hagrid never told me about it. "

"Well," Harry2 began, "he wouldn't."

Harry's confusion must have showed on his face because Harry2 said. "Knockturn Alley is not the safest of places. It's full of dark wizards, hags, and worse things. NEVER go down there alone. You might not come out if you do."

"Then why are we going there if it's so dangerous?" asked Harry.

"Because I need a wand, and It's the only place I can get one that's not registered with the Ministry."

"Oh," Harry said, "the makes sense." Then remembering the bus he asked. "So how do I call the bus again."

"Take out your wand and hold it out like you're calling to a taxi cab." Harry2 told him.

Harry did as he was told, and within seconds there was a loud BANG, and sitting in front of him was a huge double decker, purple bus. One the front was a sign saying 'KNIGHT BUS'.

The door opened, and a man stepped off saying. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Rodney Bell, and I will be your conductor today."

"Hello Rodney," Harry2 said. "Can you take us to the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Oh course Sir. Step right on board."

Harry and Harry2 got on board the bus and waited for Rodney. "That will be One Galleon, and ten Sickles please Sir."

Harry paid the fair for them both of them. Something which made the conductor look at them questioningly.

Harry2 saw this and said, "Harry is muggle born, and doesn't know how our money works. It's completely different from the muggle type." He explained. "Headmaster Dumbledore thinks the best way to learn is by doing, so he's paying for everything on our trip."

"He's a great man that Dumbledore. I wish I had someone to help me out the first time." Rodney said. "Let's go then."

"Hang on Harry." Harry2 told him. But before Harry could ask why, the bus lurched forward and disappeared with another loud BANG.

oooOOOooo

They arrived outside the Leaky Cauldron fifteen minutes later, with Harry swearing that he's never willingly get on the Knight Bus again.

"It's takes a bit of getting used too." Harry2 said with a chuckle, "But I know what

you mean. It can be a bit much. Brooms are far better."

They crossed the street and entered the old pub, hoping that there wouldn't be too many people there this early in the morning. There weren't, and so they made their way to the lane in the back with no trouble. "You remember what bricks to tap Harry?" Harry2 asked.

"Yes." Harry replied. "Good. Then get out your wand and tap the bricks to open the archway for us." Harry2 told him.

Harry did as he was told and the bricks came to life and parted to allow them to enter Diagon Alley.


	4. Chapter 4 Diagon Alley

A/N: Thanks to all who sent in reviews and suggestions, they're much appreciated.

Chapter 3 – Diagon Alley

"So, where are we going first?" Harry asked.

"First to Gringotts, then Madam Malkins for some extra robes, then finally to Knockturn Alley so I can get a wand and a new trunk for you…and me." Harry2 answered.

"A new trunk, why? There's nothing wrong with the one I have. It's brand new." Harry asked.

"I'm going to get one that has a furnished flat in it so I'll have some place to live while I'm at Hogwarts." Harry2 said, "After all, I cant very well sleep on the floor under your bed can I?" Harry2 asked with a smile.

"Oh. No I suppose not." Harry answered. "But what if someone see's you? Won't they thing it's strange that there's two of us?" the boy asked.

"They'll never see both of us at the same time." Harry2 said. "They'll be seeing you nearly all the time, and me only occasionally. Mostly in Potions class."

Harry looked at his other self, then asked "Why potions?"

"Because Potions is being taught by a Professor named Snape. He went to school with our father, and he hated him." Harry2 replied. "He also decided that since the man was dead, he take his revenge on me….you."

Harry thought about this for a moment, then asked "Why did he hate him? What did he do to him?"

Harry2 wondered if he should tell the boy the whole truth, or just part of it. _No. _he thought. _I'm not Dumbledore._ Finally he said. "Harry, you have to understand something. James Potter was a good man, one of the best. But he was also a real berk when he was in school."

Harry started to protest, but Harry2 stopped him.

"He grew out of it Harry, just like most boys do. He grew up into one of the finest men in the Wizarding world. But Snape never let go of his hatred for him, and I guess he decided that if he couldn't get back at James Potter directly, he do it by making his sons life hell."

"Then why is he allowed to teach there?" Harry asked. "If he's so bad, they should sack him and get someone better."

"Because Dumbledore, who's the Headmaster at Hogwarts, won't get rid of him. They've been through a lot together, and he trusts him completely." Harry2 said.

oooOOOooo

They continued down the alley, pausing now and then to look in the windows and see what was for sale. Finally, they came to the imposing form of Gringotts at the far end and went in.

Harry2 saw that Griphook was busy with another customer, and decided to wait till he was finished. After a few minutes the witch he was serving left, and they made their way to till. Griphook was writing figures down in a ledger and didn't look up at them when they approached, but after a few minutes he decided to _notice_ them.

"Yes?" he asked "What do you want?"

"Master Griphook," Harry2 said in Gobbledygook, "I am Mr. James Evans, and I'm here escorting Mr. Harry Potter so that he can get some gold out of his vault. He has some extra purchases to make before starting at Hogwarts tomorrow."

"Key please." Griphook said, a bit flustered. Very few wizards could speak Gobbledygook, and Harry2's was perfect.

"Alas, we don't have it with us, but I'm sure Mr. Potter won't mind parting with a drop or two of blood to prove his identity." Harry2 said politely.

"There will be a two galleon fee for the blood test," Griphook said, "and another five if the key needs to be replaced and the old one canceled."

"Of course. I think that would be best. Also, would it be possible to have the key warded so that only Mr. Potter will be able to use it?"

"That would be an extra ten galleons for the warding." Griphook replied.

"Excellent." Harry2 said in a cheery voice. "After all, you can't be too careful these days with your finances. Can you?" He added.

"Follow me please." Said Griphook, and then lead them to an office. After closing the door he went and sat down behind a very old and battered desk. Opening a drawer, he then took out a piece of sky blue parchment and placed it in front of Harry along with a small silver knife. "Put a sample of your blood at the bottom of the parchment please Mr. Potter." He said.

"What?" Harry asked shocked. "You expect me to cut myself?"

"Don't worry Harry. The knife is extremely sharp. You'll hardly feel it, and I'll heal the cut afterwards." Harry2 told him.

Harry wasn't too sure about this, but picked up the knife and made a shallow slash in his thumb. "Ow!" He hissed. You said it wouldn't hurt." looking at Harry2.

"No, I said you'd hardly feel it." Harry2 said with a smile. "Sorry about that, but you seemed really nervous, and I figured it was better to just get it over with. Just make sure you don't lose the new key or you'll have to this again."

Harry scowled at him then dropped 3 drops of blood on the parchment, which turned red as soon as the first drop hit it. Griphook picked it up and looked at it. "Very good. This confirms that you are indeed Harry James Potter." He then proceeded to take a golden bowl out of another desk drawer and placed the parchment into it. While he was doing this, Harry silently healed the cut on Harry's thumb. There was a flash of light from the bowl, and the parchment disappeared to be replaced with two silver keys on a chain. Taking them out, he handed them to Harry. "Your new keys Mr. Potter." He said. "Until you tell us otherwise, only you can use them to access your vault."

"Thank you." Harry said, pocketing the keys.

"Master Griphook," Harry2 began, "I also need to see Director Ragnok on another, very _sensitive_ matter. Could you please take my request to him?"

Harry2 asked, and although he was still being polite, he had dropped the cheery tone that had been in his voice. Something Griphook noticed instantly.

"The Director does not see wizards." Griphook told him. "In fact, other than the senior managers, he very seldomly even see's other Goblins."

"I am aware that the Director is an extremely important Goblin, and his time is very valuable. However, I would not make this request unless it was of the utmost importance." Harry2 said.

After a few moments, Griphook finally said. "I'll make the request, but he won't see you."

"Thank you, and after you do ask him, would you also tell him I asked if he has decided on name for his new son yet?"

"What are you talking about Mr. Evans?" Griphook asked. "The Director does not have any children."

"Please, just tell him I asked." Harry2 replied.

"Very well. Wait here. I will be back with his answer as soon as I can." Griphook told them, and then, left the office.

Harry remained silent, thinking about everything he had just heard. Finally he looked at Harry2 and asked. "What just happened? He asked. "Why did he look at you like you were crazy?"

Harry2 smiled. "Harry, Ragnok isn't just the Director of Gringotts. He is also the leader of the entire Goblin nation. What I just did was the equivalent of walking up to Buckingham Palace unannounced and asking to see the Queen."

"But what about the thing about his son?" Harry asked, "Griphook said he didn't have any children."

"I'm sure that's the truth as far as Griphook knows. Ragnok's son was born…" Harry2 looked down at his watch. "just under four hours ago. That alone will guarantee we get in to see him. He'll want to know how a wizard knew about something that not even his own people have been told about yet. Oh, and one other thing," he added. "When we go in, we bow when we're brought before him. Understand?"

"No, not really, but I'll do it." Harry said. "But no more blood samples."

Harry2 laughed softly. "Don't worry. You won't have to do that again."

"Good," Harry said, "because I lost enough blood over the years because of Dudley and his gang. I don't want to start…"

Harry was interrupted as the door opened and Griphook entered.

"The Director will see you Mr. Evans, Mr. Potter." He told the two of them.

Harry2 got up and said to Harry. "Let's go."

But they only as far as the door when Griphook stopped them. "Before you see the Director, please place your wands and any other weapons you have in this box. They will be returned to you when you leave." He said, showing them a longish black steel box.

"Harry has his wand with him, but I don't have one with me today." Harry2 told Griphook, and then turning to Harry said "It's okay Harry. It's just security." And after Harry had placed his wand in the box he added, "Do you have anything else on you? A pocket knife, or something?"

"No." Harry answered. "Just my wand."

"You sure?" he asked, and after Harry nodded yes he said. "Okay," He then turned back to Griphook and said, "That's all we have."

Griphook didn't say anything but took out a clear yellow stone which he held up in front of first Harry and then Harry2. "Very good. Follow me please." He told them, leading them out of the office.

They were _escorted_, Harry saw, by six heavily armed goblins, all dressed in gold armor, trimmed in silver. Two in front of them, two behind, and one on either side of both of them.

While they were walking down the corridor, Harry quietly asked Harry2 "What would have happened if I had had a knife or another wand on me when he checked me with that stone?"

"You really don't want to know." Harry2 replied softly.

oooOOOooo

The corridor they were led down seemed to go on forever, but finally they arrived at two huge gilded doors. There were also two more guards outside dressed in the same gold and silver armor as their escort. Griphook approached and door and knocked once. Harry heard a voice say something in the same gruff sounding language Harry2 had used when first talking to Griphook. The doors opened and they went in.

What Harry saw was not what he expected.

The office, he saw was large, but not huge, and the furniture and decorations seemed almost ordinary. The only exception seemed to be the very large desk which at first glance seemed to be made out of black marble. But when he got a closer look at it, he realized it wasn't marble at all. It was too evenly colored. Harry2 would later tell him it was carved out of a single solid piece of black obsidian. This was an office to work in. Not to sit around and look important.

When they got to the front of the desk Harry heard a door open on the side of the room, and a large goblin, dressed entirely in silver armor, walked in and sat down front of them. Both Harry and Harry2 bowed respectfully. "Sit." he said, as two chairs appeared next to them. When they were seated, the goblin continued. "I am Ragnok, Director of Gringotts. You asked to see me Mr. Evans. Why?"

_Right to the point. Just like always_, Harry2 thought. "Director, I find myself in a very dangerous situation. Both for myself and me young friend here." Harry2 said, indicating Harry. "And I need your help, and help of Gringotts resources to rectify it."

"And why would I help you Mr. Evans? I've never met you before today. In fact you don't even have an account here." Ragnok replied matter of factly.

"Actually I do have a vault here Director. Three of them in fact. May I have your permission to use magic to drop the glamour's that I have on Harry and myself?" Harry2 asked.

"And how will you do that without a wand Mr. Evans?" Ragnok asked.

"I am very adept at wandless magic Director. It's why I didn't have one when I came here today." Harry2 answered.

"You have my permission." Ragnok said simply. He had known about the glamour's of course. A ward had alerted the bank the minute the two had set foot inside the bank. But as they hadn't as yet tried to use them to break any goblin laws, nothing was said.

"Thank you." Harry2 said to him, and waved his hand in front of first Harry and then himself. Harry's hair and eye color instantly changed back to normal as the glamour on him was a simple one. But Harry2's was far more complex, and took a few seconds to fall.

When he reverted to _normal,_ there was a slight gasp from the goblins in the room.

"Mr. Evans," Ragnok almost growled, "I do not like jokes. You have 10 seconds to explain before I have you thrown into the deepest dungeon we have."

"Director, my name is Harry James Potter. I was born July 31st 1980 to James Potter, and Lillian Evans Potter. Both of whom were killed in Godricks Hollow Wales on October 31st 1981 by the wizard calling himself Lord Voldemort. I have traveled back in time from the year 2153. But something went wrong, because this…" he said, gesturing to Harry, "is also Harry James Potter."

oooOOOooo

Ragnok blinked. "Please repeat that Mr. Evans." He said.

"My name is Harry James Potter, and I've come back in time from the year 2153. But because of a mishap when I was leaving, I ended up as a separate person rather than merging with my younger self as I had planed."

"So you were planning on replacing your younger self and taking over his body?" the goblin asked, anger in his voice."

"No," Harry2 said. "the original ritual I found would have done exactly that, but I modified it so that it would cause our two essences to combine into one. It would have left Harry mostly himself, but with my knowledge of the future and magical ability."

Ragnok looked at him, thinking about his answer. Finally he asked "So what went wrong? Why are there now two of you?"

Harry2 sighed. "I don't know for certain, but I think it was because I was hit with a killing curse just as the spell activated to send me back. "

"A killing curse?" asked the Director. "Who was firing spells at you?"

"Ministry Aurors." Harry2 replied. "As I'm sure you can guess I had broken the Temporal Constructs law and was arrested. I stalled then for the half hour that it would take for the ritual to complete, but when the final part of it started, the Minister of Magic ordered me killed because it was too dangerous to let me go back. The curse hit he in the chest just as I was being pulled back, and when I appeared, I thought it had worked…..until I saw Harry here looking at me from across his room."

"Very well," replied Ragnok after even more silence, "Assuming you're telling the truth, why did you come back? What do you want to change?"

"Everything." Came the simple reply. "Harry starts Hogwarts tomorrow as a first year, but at the end of his fourth, during the final task of the Triwizard Tournament that will be held at Hogwarts in 1994, Voldemort will come back. I told Minister Fudge, that he had gotten a body again but he wouldn't believe me, and as a result, Voldemort had an entire year to rebuild his forces." Harry2 paused for a few minutes then continued. "The resulting civil war lasted over 30 years and destroyed most of muggle and magical Britain. That's what I've come back to stop, and I need your help to do it."

There was deathly silence in the room as Harry2 finished his story. Finally, Ragnok asked him "And why should the Goblin Nation help Wizards? This is your fight. Not ours."

"But that's just it. It _is_ your fight. Or it will be. Harry2 said. "For the first two years Voldemort left your people alone. Even with all the dark creatures, he didn't want to fight on two fronts. But _after _ two years, he expanded the conflict to include the Goblins. Declaring that the only thing you were fit for was target practice."

There was another long silence before Ragnok asked, "And how many of our people were left when the war ended?"

"Less than a hundred. He was paying his deatheaters a bounty of 500 Galleons for every Goblin head that was brought to him, with a bonus if they looked liked they died screaming."

Harry2 knew he would be on very thin ice when he said this. It was extremely dangerous to make a Goblin angry, and these Goblins were incensed at his words.

"You do realize _Mr. Evans, _that if you can't prove what you've just said, that you and your companion," indicating Harry, "will never leave this office alive?"

"I understand Director, and to that end, I believe there is only one way to prove it to you."

"And that is?" Ragnok asked.

"The _RINGNOK _potion." Harry2 said solemnly. "There is nothing else you'll accept, and for the sake of both our worlds, you have to believe me."

Ragnok eyes went wide for a moment before he said. "That potion is known to only a handful of Goblins on this planet Mr. Evans. How do YOU know of it's existence?"

Harry2 allowed himself a small smile. "You told me about it, or _will_ tell me about it in about 70 years, and even then, I had to give you an unbreakable vow to never mention it outside this office."

The resulting silence to that answer was broken not by Ragnok, but by Harry, who spoke for the first time. "What's the _RINGNOK_ potion?" he asked Harry2.

"A truth potion." Harry2 answered, "With very nasty effects if you try to lie after taking it."

"_Extremely_ nasty effects," Ragnok said, "and I'll ask you again, how do you know about it _Mister Evans_, as it's one of the closest guarded secrets we have."

"You gave me a bottle of it Director." Harry2 replied, knowing what the reaction would be. "After I gave you an unbreakable vow never to reveal it's existence to anyone, except another goblin of course." Ragnok looked like a duck that had just been hit on the head with a boat paddle.

"If you gave me an unbreakable vow, then how is it you're still alive? You just revealed it to young Mr. Potter here." He said, indicating Harry.

"I'm still alive because he's me, and I'm him. I'm not breaking the vow by telling myself, and, everyone else in this office is a goblin, and very highly trusted by you otherwise they wouldn't be here." Harry2 replied.

Ragnok seemed to think about this statement for a moment, then finally said, "Very well. Griphook, get me a bottle of ringnok, and let us see if _Mr. Evans _is telling us the truth."

"Yes Sir." Griphook said, and went to a small cabinet at the far end of the office. He opened it and took out a small green crystal bottle, as well a white one, then returned to the desk.

"Administer the potion to Mr. Evans."

Griphook went over to Harry2 and said "Open your mouth."

"Harry2 did as he was told and Griphook dripped 4 drops of the green liquid into his mouth. Almost immediately his eyes went opaque.

"He's under Director." Griphook told Ragnok.

Ragnok turned to Harry2 and asked. "What's your full name?"

"Harry James Potter" Harry2 replied in a dull sounding voice.

"Did you come here from the future?"

"Yes."

"What year was it when you left?"

"2153." Harry2 replied.

Ragnok looked surprised, but pressed on. "Have you spoken any lies since you entered this office?"

"No." said Harry2.

"Why did you come to me for help? Why not your own people?"

"What I've done is highly illegal. If the Ministry found out, both myself and Harry would be thrown through the veil for breaking the Temporal Constructs laws. You're my only hope." Said Harry2.

Ragnok was silent for a few moments then asked, "And what's in it for us?"

Harry2 smiled, "I have knowledge of most of the business dealings of the muggle and magical world for the next hundred and fifty years. With it, you can make a fortune because you'll know what to invest in and what not to." Harry2 replied.

"And what about the boy next to you. Who is he?"

"He is also Harry James Potter, only he's from this time, and he only met me yesterday."

"You say you have knowledge of the next 150 years. What to stop us from getting it out of you and then turning you over to your ministry?"

"Nothing at all. But you won't." Harry2 said simply.

"Oh, and why not?" Asked Ragnok.

"Because it wouldn't be honorable."

Harry, who had been listening to the intercourse between Harry2 and Ragnok, nearly jumped out of his chair when goblin started to laugh.

Finally after getting himself under control Ragnok said, "Very well Mr. Evans, or should I say Mr. Potter? I believe you're telling the truth." and then turning once again to Griphook said, "Give him the counter potion Griphook."

Griphook dripped 4 drops from the white bottle into Harry2 mouth, and his eyes cleared.

"That was unpleasant." He said, shaking his head.

"True, but not as bad as it would have been had you lied to me." Ragnok said.

"True. I've seen the results from the two times I used it. It looked like it was as bad as a Crucio." Harry2 said.

"Actually it's ten times worse. Goblins have a much higher pain threshold than humans, and it was developed with us in mind after all." Ragnok replied. "Now _Mr. Evans_, what can Gringotts do to help you?"


	5. Chapter 5 Wands and Whatnot

A/N: With every chapter I manage to write, my respect for the other authors on this site goes up and up. Again my thanks to all who sent in reviews, especially the two people who pointed out the gaff I made with the ringnok potion time frame. I may not respond to all of them, but I do read them.

Chapter 4: Wands and Whatnot

Harry and Harry2, still in the guise of James Evans, left Gringotts three hours later, with Harry's vault 10,000 galleons lighter. Harry was a bit shocked at the amount, but didn't say anything till they were back out in Diagon Alley. "I know you're me," he began, "but won't taking all that money out of my vault cause problems in a few years? I mean, will I have enough left to pay for all the stuff I need for school?"

"Harry2 chuckled. "Don't worry Harry. That's just your trust vault, and that gets re-filled at the end of every year." He said.

"Huh?" Harry asked. "What do you mean just my trust vault. That's the only vault I have. Isn't it?" he asked.

"No. You have three actually." Harry2 answered. "You have your trust vault which is supposed to see you through all seven years of Hogwarts. Then you have the main Potter Family money vault, and finally the Potter Heirlooms vault."

Harry looked a bit shocked, but pressed on. "But if I have those other two vaults, why didn't the goblins tell me about them?"

"Because they aren't allowed to until you turn fourteen or claim your head of house status. When you do, you'll get a letter from Gringotts from the Potter Family account manager asking you to come into the bank to discuss the vaults. They'll tell you all about them, how much is in them, what property you own, everything."

"Three vaults? Wow!" said Harry. He knew there was more money than he's ever seen in the vault he had been taken to when he was with Hagrid, but he thought that had been all his parents had left him. "You said my trust vault would be re-filled. So how much is in he main vault?"

"A lot." Harry2 said. "Over 200 million Galleons. But you can't get access to it till you come of age at seventeen. Until then you have to get by on the 30,000 galleons you have in the trust vault." Harry2 said with a smile. "Which is topped up at the end of the year from the main vault. That's why I wasn't worried about taking the money that I did out. You'll never run out. In fact, your great-great-grandchildren will never run out."

Harry was stunned. "Where….where did my parents get all that money from?" asked Harry.

"The Potter family is very old Harry. In fact they're one of the original Twelve Wizarding Families, and you can trace your…_our _ancestors back to the time of ancient Rome." Harry2 said.

"Original Twelve Families?" Harry asked. "What are they?"

"They were the ones that created the first Wizengamot back in the year 624, which was made up of the heads of the twelve most powerful magical families in Britain at the time. Most of your money, among other things, has been passed down through the centuries."

"What about…."

"Not here Harry. Diagon Alley isn't the place to talk about this stuff. Too many people can overhear us." Harry2 said. "I'll tell you more when we get back to Privet Drive, okay?"

"I'm gonna hold you to that." Harry said. "So, where are we going next?"

"First to McMillans Custom Wands, then to Trunkensteins Trunk Emporium. Both of which are in Knockturn Alley. Harry2 answered. "Oh and Harry, one thing about Knockturn Alley."

"What about it?" Harry asked.

"While we're there, don't stray away from me for any reason. Stay right next to me the entire time we're there, alright? Knockturn Alley is a very dangerous place." Harry2 said seriously. "and there are people who would _love_ to get their hands on a young boy to use as, potion ingredients."

Harry laughed nervously.

"Harry," Harry2 began, "I'm not joking. The magical world can be a wondrous place, but it can also be VERY dangerous one. So stay close."

"I will." Harry said. "Potion ingredients?"

Harry2 nodded. "Among other things." He added.

Harry gulped but remained silent. He didn't want to think what his older self meant by _"among other things."_

oooOOOooo

Harry2 decided to stop at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour before venturing into Knockturn Alley. _After Gringotts, and me scaring the crap out of him with my warning about Knockturn Alley, he deserves it._ He thought. Harry of course agreed, and asked for triple chocolate. Harry2 got strawberry with peanut butter and anise seeds on top.

They sat eating their ice cream quietly. Harry marveling at the taste of the ice cream. He had never tasted anything like it before, while Harry2 seemed to be lost in his memories. But they were both brought out of their thoughts by a loud crash, followed by an equally loud shout of "BLOODY HELL!"

At the same time they both looked down the street and saw a young witch with spiked, bubblegum pink hair lying sprawled out on the street, the contents of a street vendors cart all around her.

"Honestly Nymphadora. Do watch where you're going." Said an older witch next to her. "You're going to kill yourself one day. How you expect to become an Auror I'll never know."

"I'm fine mother. Not hurt at all. Thank you for asking," The young witch said with a scowl. "and I've asked you to please NOT call me that name when we're out in public."

"It's a perfectly fine name," the older witch said, "I named you after your Great Aunt…..."

But the rest of the conversation was lost as they passed out of hearing.

"Merlin, I've missed you Tonks." Harry2 whispered.

"Tonks?" Harry asked.

Harry2 smiled. "Nymphadora Tonks. Who hates her first name and insists you call her by her surname only, unless you want to get hexed."

"Who is she?" Harry asked.

"You remember me telling you before about Teddy, our Godson?" Harry2 asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered, "What about him?"

"That's was his mother. Or will be his mother in six years or so." Harry2 said. "She's a Metamorphmagus, which is also why she has pink hair."

"What's a Metamorphmagus?" Harry asked.

"It's someone who can change their appearance at will. Hair and eye color, and with really advanced ones like Tonks, their body shape." Harry2 replied. "She can make herself look like anyone."

"Cool." Harry said.

"She also has the not so wanted ability to trip over air." Harry2 added with a chuckle. "As you just saw."

"And she's wants to be a magical policeman?" Harry asked. "I agree with her mother. She'll get herself killed her first day of work."

"Actually she was a very good Auror," Harry2 said, "and when she was 'working', she wasn't clumsy at all. She was quite graceful actually."

"I'll have to take your word for that." Harry said with a mile.

Harry2 looked down at his watch and said. "Nearly 1pm. We better get going. You finished your ice cream?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, just one more spoonful. Done."

"Let's go then."

Harry and Harry2 got up, and then started off down the alley.

oooOOOooo

Knockturn Alley wasn't at all what Harry had expected. Where Diagon Alley was bright and cheerful, with loads of people all bustling around, buying things and talking to one another, Knockturn Alley was the polar opposite. It was dark, dirty, and it stank of filth and corruption.

"God. What a shit hole." Harry said grimly.

"Yeah, it's not very pleasant is it?" Harry2 asked. "And it's not much better 150 years from now."

"But how can people live down here? If I had to make a choice, I'd rather live with the Dursleys than here." Harry asked.

"Many don't have a choice." Harry2 replied. "It's either live down here and try to scratch out an existence, or intentionally break the law and be sent to Azkaban, which is much worse."

"Azkaban?" Harry asked.

"Wizarding prison." Said Harry2. "Azkaban Fortress is on a hidden island out in the middle of the North Sea. It's cold, it's damp, and it's surrounded by Dementors. A true hell on earth."

"What are Dementors?" Harry asked.

"The Ministry uses them to guard the prisoners. They're….well we don't really know what they are. Even in my time. All we really know about them is what they do to people who are around them." Harry2 replied.

"What's that?" asked Harry.

Harry2 looked down at his younger self and said. "You know Aunt Marge, the way she can seem to suck the life right out of a room simply by walking into it?" Harry2 asked.

Harry nodded yes.

"Same bloody thing. Only worse. Dementors feed on happy thoughts, and make you relive every bad moment you've ever had in your life." Said Harry2. "Most prisoners don't survive 5 years, and the one's who do, are never the same when they get out."

Harry shuddered.

"The Ministry also uses them as a form of execution for the worst offenders." Harry2 added.

"Do they hang them like they used to do in our world?" Harry asked.

"Oh no, that would be barbaric." Harry2 said in a sarcastic tone. "No the Dementors suck the persons soul out of their body, leaving them technically alive, but just a shell. They usually die within a week from not eating or drinking anything."

"That's horrible!" Said Harry. "If some of these people are that bad, why don't they just simply kill them in some quick painless way and get it over with. "

"Well that's what they used to do until about 150 years ago, until the Minister of Magic at the time decided that executing criminals was the _Mark of a backwards Society_, and got the law changed. Harry2 replied, "and of course by using the Dementors, the Ministry can claim that they don't actually use the death penalty."

"But….that's crazy!" Harry said. "Couldn't they, I don't know, figure out some better way to deal with them?"

"Well they could do what they do in the North American Federation, which is what they call a _Death of Personality Sentence. _They do a complete mind wipe of their worst criminals, then re-train them to be productive members of Wizarding Society, and then release them with new identities after they're sure they're safe." Harry2 answered.

"Does it work?" Harry asked.

"They claim a 97% success rate.

"Then they should do that here then, shouldn't they?" Asked Harry.

"They should, but the don't, or won't." Harry2 said.

"Why not? Isn't it better to have someone working to help the Wizarding world than rotting in a jail cell?" asked Harry. He couldn't believe this.

"Of course it is, but before they did that, the pureblood driven Ministry would have to admit that a bunch of Muggle and Half Blood born colonists were smarter and more progressive than they are." Harry2 said, than after a moment added, "and _that_, they will _never_ do."

_That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard_ Harry thought, but didn't say anything. Finally he asked, "I've heard that term Pureblood before. What does it mean?"

"There are five kinds of humans in the world. _Muggles_, which are people with no magic at all. Like Uncle Vernon and Dudley. _Squibs_, which are people born into a magical family, but who can't do magic at all. _Muggle Borns_, like our mother, who are the first ones in their family to have magic." Harry snorted, "The Americans call them _First Generational Magical Users._ Leave it to them to come up with a long drawn out description when something simple with do." He continued, _"Half Bloods_, like you and I, which is someone born to either a Muggle, Muggle Born, or a Squib _and_ a Pureblood, and finally _Pure Bloods,_ who's parents are both magical _and_ who's ancestors are all magical for at least 5 generation."

"So, then it's better to be a Pure Blood, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"No it's not. Well, not in most cases anyway." Harry2 replied. "Most of the Pure Blood families will _only _marry other Pure Bloods, so that they don't sully or pollute their blood lines with inferiors. The Potter family, along with a few others, have always been the exception. But most follow this un-written rule as gospel…and therein lies the problem." Harry2 replied."

"I don't understand." Harry said.

"There aren't that many Pure Blood families left in our world, and because the Pure Bloods will only marry other Pure Bloods, they're all related to one another. Harry2 replied. "Most of them end up marrying their second and third cousins, and on occasion, although it's rare, their own sisters."

"EW!" Harry said with disgust.

"Quite. But enough of Pureblood ideology for now. Here's McMillans." Harry2 said.

Harry looked up. He been so engrossed in their conversation, he hadn't really been watching where they were going, and so didn't notice the shop until his older self mentioned they were there. He looked up and saw a sign above the place that said "McMillans Custom Made Wands – We Make Only the Finest"

"Let's go." Harry2 said, opening the door for Harry.

The inside of McMillans was little better than the outside, although as Harry saw, at least the floor had been swept….sometime this week. _But_, he though, _It's better than nothing_.

McMillan, at least that's who Harry assumed it was, came out from a back room, alerted by a bell over the door. "Good afternoon Sir. What can I do for you?" He asked Harry2.

"Good afternoon Mr. McMillan. My name is James Evans and I find I'm in need of a new wand, and I'd like something more _personalized_ than the over the counter wands that can be gotten at Ollivanders." Harry2 said

Harry listed to Harry2 speaking and noticed the different tone in his voice. It wasn't rude or arrogant, but completely flat. Nothing like when he was talking to him, or even with the Goblins for that matter. The kind of voice that if he hadn't known who this man was, would have instantly put him on his guard.

"Well I can definitely help you with that Sir, but I must warn you, my wands are extremely expensive."

"Quality usually is." Harry2 replied in the same flat tone. "I need one that isn't Ministry registered, and you were recommended to me by Mundungus Fletcher as someone who could help me with my, _problem_."

"Fletcher eh?" he asked suspiciously. "Well if Dung told you about me, he must have also told you what my cat's name is."

"He did indeed." Harry2 replied. "He's called Phoenix."

McMillans attitude changed instantly. "He is indeed Sir. Well, come on into the back room and I'll do my best to sort you out."

Harry2 nodded his agreement. "My son will accompany us if you don't mind Mr. McMillan. I don't want him wandering around alone in this area." And for the first time since they entered the shop, a small smile appeared on Harry2's face. "Too many disreputable, law breaking people out there."

"Of course Sir. I trust though that the lad will not talk about what he see's and hears?"

"He will not." Harry2 said simply.

"Very good then." and then turning, led the two into the back of the shop.

What Harry saw upon entering the back room was a huge workshop. In fact it looked much bigger than it should have judging from the outside. He'd have to remember to ask his older self about that later. On one wall were countless pieces of different types of wood, all about a foot in length. On another were jar upon jar of things he couldn't even guess the identity of, and in the middle of it all, a small work table, with carving knives and other tools. Strangely, they all looked non magical.

"We'll start with the wand wood itself." McMillan said. "Raise your wand hand up, and run it over the wood blanks till you find something that responds to you. You'll know when it does."

Harry2 did as he was told, and started moving his hand over the blanks. He had nearly come to the end when he stopped, his hand hovering over a long black one. He picked it up from the pile and said, "This one."

"Ebony." McMillan said. "I don't use that very often. It's very particular about the witch or wizard it chooses."

Harry2 didn't say anything.

"Now for the core. Just do the same thing with the jars Mr. Evans." McMillan said..

Again Harry2 started moving his hand, this time over the jars till he came to one with what looked thin cream colored string in it. He stopped, held his hand over it for a few seconds, but then continued. Finally he stopped at another much smaller jar, this one filled with a pale yellow liquid. "These two." He said to McMillan.

"Duel cores?" McMillan asked, his eyes wide. "I've never made a duel core wand before. Especially with ones like this. Do you know what these are Mr. Evans?"

"Nundu spinal cord and Basilisk venom." Harry2 said simply.

"I don't even know if they'll work together. I've never heard of a wand using those two ingredients in combination."

Harry thought McMillan almost sounded fearful as he said this.

"Don't worry Mr. McMillan. They'll work fine. Please make the wand with these two cores." Harry2 said in the same dead pan voice.

"As you wish Sir, but you know it'll cost more for the extra core?" McMillan asked. "My prices are for normal single core wands only."

"Of course." Said simply.

"And I can't be held responsible if they don't work together. You understand?"

"I do." Harry2 replied.

"Very well then. The wand will take an hour to make. You pay half now and the rest when it's finished." McMillan added.

"That is acceptable, and works out well for me as I have _other_ business to conduct in the Alley today. How much do I owe you now?" Harry2 asked the shopkeeper.

"One hundred and fifty Galleons now, the balance when you return"

Harry2 didn't say anything upon hearing the price. He simply pulled out his money pouch and started stacking gold Galleons on the table. When he was finished, he glanced at his watch again and said, "One hundred and fifty Galleons. We shall be back at 2:30. Until then good day Mr. McMillan," and then turning to Harry added. "Come Harry."

Harry, wanting to play along with the father/son deception simply answered, "Yes Father."

Harry2 smiled inside. _He catches on quickly. _He thought._ Hopefully he won't be as thick as I was when I was eleven._

When they got out of the shop Harry turned to Harry2 and said. "Your voice was so cold when you were talking to him. How did you do that?"

"Occlumency." Harry2 said simply. Then added when he saw the confused look on Harry's face, "It's a way of shutting down your emotions and protecting your mind. From intrusion. It's also something I have to teach you _before_ you leave for Hogwarts tomorrow."

"Why do I have to learn Occlamancy?" Harry asked.

"Occlumency," Harry2 corrected. "and it's because there are people at Hogwarts, the Headmaster in particular, who can read people's thoughts and memories, and we can't have them doing that to you can we?" Harry2 asked.

"No I guess not." Harry answered, knowing what would happen to them both if the truth were discovered. Then he asked "How long will it take?"

"Normally it can take anywhere from 6 months to a year, but I have another way to do it where I can give you the knowledge in a few hours."

"Okay then. Are we going to get the trunk now?" he asked.

"Yes." He answered. "My wand should be finished by the time we get back."

They continued on down Knockturn Alley, Harry watching their surroundings more closely this time. At one point he saw a figure by one corner, bent over a large iron pot, stirring the contents and cackling as she did so. He knew it was a woman by the sound of her voice, but her face was complete covered by a black veil. "Was that a witch?" he asked.

"Most likely a hag." Harry2 answered.

"A hag?" Harry asked. Then after thinking for a moment added "Like Witchiepoo?"

Harry2 stopped dead in the middle of the Alley and let out a loud laugh that almost bent him over. Finally, after getting control of himself he said. "Yes Harry, like Witchiepoo. Only she's uglier. That's why she has the veil. Even in Knockturn Alley she's considered offensive to look at."

"And what was she stirring in that pot?" he asked.

"I don't know, and I don't _want_ to know." Harry2 said.

Harry thought about this answer, and then remembered what his older self had told him before coming into the alley. "_There are people who would love to get their hands on a young boy to use as, potion ingredients" _He shuddered again.

It took them a further twenty minutes, but finally they arrived at their destination. "Trunkensteins Trunk Emporium" the huge sign outside proclaimed. "You Have Stuff, We Have The Trunk To Put It In"

The two entered the shop, which unlike the wand makers place was clean and brightly lit.

"Good day Sir," said a cheerful looking man, "and how can I help you today?"

Harry2 smiled back and said. "I need a maximum security, multi compartmental trunk, complete with a two bedroom flat and kitchen." Then seemingly as an afterthought added, "Preferably with a working floo."

"I may have just the thing for you Sir. It has a bit more than you asked for as it also has a library, den and a …err…_silenced storage_ room. Would you like to see it?"

"I would." Harry2 answered.

"Very good. This way please Sir, it's at the back of the shop." the sales-wizard said, gesturing to Harry2.

"Lead the way then." Harry2 replied.

The man led them to the back of the shop and stopped at a rather ordinary looking trunk. In fact it didn't look any different than the one Harry bought when he was with Hagrid.

"This is our top of the line model Sir. Six main compartments on top, all password protected. Plus a full sized furnished flat complete with a full ensuite master bedroom, guest bedroom, living or family room with a fireplace which is also a working floo. A four piece bathroom off the living room A den or office with connected library. A kitchen with stove and icebox as well as a table and chairs for four. Also there's a _silenced_ storage room at the back. Shall we go in and take a look?" The sales wizard asked, opening the trunk and entering it.

"Yes please." Harry2 answered, following him in with Harry following.

Harry couldn't believe what he was looking at. It was bigger than the whole of Number Four. As the man said, the whole flat was furnished. There was a large plush leather bound sofa in the main room along with a love seat for two, (or one if it was Dudley) as well as a third single plush chair, also in leather. In the center of the wall was a fireplace. The Kitchen looked like any other kitchen and the table and chairs were made of oak. The Master bedroom held a Queen sized bed, with a large dresser and a nightstand with a lamp on it. The ensuite bathroom though was completely different from what he was used to at Privit Drive. For starters it had a bathtub that was level with the floor, and had stairs then went down into it. It needed them, as it had to be three feet deep. This wasn't a bathtub, it was a small pool! He also saw something strange looking next to the toilet. It was the size of a toilet but didn't have a seat. He filed this away in his head as something else to ask his older self about when he got the chance. They next went to the den which had yet another plush chair, along with a desk and swivel chair, and two filing cabinets. Next to the office through a door was the library. It had all four walls covered in shelves from floor to ceiling that looked like they could hold about two thousand books.

The smaller bathroom he saw looked like a normal one with a normal sized bathtub and shower. But it was the storage room that really caught his attention. It looked like a regular sized room, maybe half the size of his bedroom at Privit Drive, but it had a one inch thick, laminated steel door on it. _Why would they have a steel doom on a store room?_ He thought to himself. But he dismissed the thought. The man did say it was maximum security after all.

Finally, the tour over, they all exited the trunk. "Well, what do you think Sir?" the sales-wizard asked Harry2.

"So far I like it. Now, what about the security?" he asked.

"Top of the line, four level multi tiered security Sir. This trunk is blood bonded to it's owner. Only he or she can access the other levels. A normal person opening it would only see a normal trunk if they opened it."

"Harry2 nodded. "And the owner, how do they bond the trunk to themselves?" he asked.

"Oh that's dead easy Sir. When you get it home, turn it on it's side so the main locking latch is facing up. Prick your finger and drip a few drops of blood on the latch and say 'I, _your full name_, am the owner of this trunk' It will glow blue to tell you it has accepted you as it's owner. After that you can key others in to allow them full or partial access simply by placing your hand on the lock and saying 'I, _your full name_, grant, _their full name_, full or partial access to my trunk' Also for added security the trunk can't be moved or shrunk while someone is inside."

Harry2 nodded his understanding. "And the difference between full and partial access?" he asked.

"Full access allows them to open and enter the trunk while you're not there. Partial access only allows them in only while you're with them, and has to be granted each time they enter." He answered.

"And what about the security on the floo?" Harry2 asked.

"That's fully password protected. You can set it to allow full floo travel in or out, with the password of course. Floo calls in or out, with or without a password, or a combination of both as you see fit. A full set of instruction also comes with the trunk, which for safety reasons, can't be removed from it. But you can make copies if need be with a regular copying charm, which you can remove. You'll find the book in the top drawer in the kitchen."

"Very good." Harry2 said. "Now the most important question. How much?"

The sales-wizard smiled. "Oh Sir, something of this quality is almost impossible to put a price on. We only make 2 or 3 of them a year so that we can make sure the workmanship is of the utmost qu…."

But Harry2 cut him off. "Ahh, never mind the sales pitch." He said, his voice dropping slightly in tone. "You've already made that. How much?"

The mans smile faltered slightly, but he pressed on. "Ah, 8000 Galleons Sir."

"8000 Galleons? That's much too high."

"That also includes a one hundred year, unconditional guarantee as well Sir."

"One hundred years?" Harry2 asked.

"Yes Sir. It's guaranteed for one hundred years or the life of the original owner. Whichever comes first."

"Okay, I like the guarantee, but 8000 Galleons is still much too high. I'll give you 5000." Harry2 replied.

"5000 Sir? Oh no. I couldn't let it go for that." The man said the smile disappearing completely this time. "I might be able to do 7000 though." The man said hopefully.

Harry2 shook his head in a no, but after appearing to think about it said. "6000."

The sales-wizard didn't reply to the offer, so Harry2 added, "How many people do you think are going to come in here willing to spend 6000 Galleons on a trunk? Even if it does have a furnished flat in it?" he asked. "How long has this been in here anyway?"

The wizard looked a bit pale as he realized he was about to lose a huge sale. Finally he said, "6500 is the lowest I can possibly go Sir, and that's only because I can see you're a wizard with discerning taste, _and_ because as you say, it's been here for a while."

Harry2 seemed to think it over for a good long while. Then, finally deciding he had tortured the poor man long enough, said to him. "Done." and held out his hand, which the sales-wizard quickly grabbed and shook, sealing the deal.

After paying for the trunk and having the sales-wizard shrink it down for them. Harry and Harry left the shop with the trunk in the pocket of Harry2's robes.

When they arrived back at McMillans, the wand maker was just finishing.

"Ah, Mr. Evans, you're back I see. I just finished your wand. Here you are, give it a swish and lets see how it works." He said, handing the wand, handle first to Harry2.

Harry2 took the wand and immediately felt a huge surge of power go through his arm as the wand bonded to him. He gave it a quick flick and a burst of multicolored sparks flew out of the tip. Then quietly he said "_Lumos."_

Bright light filled the shop, causing the owner, and Harry, to throw their hands up in front of their eyes. "_Nox." _Harry2 said quickly, shutting off the blinding light. "It's magnificent, a true work of art "He said to McMillan, as he handed over the remaining 150 Galleon balance. "Tell me, do you carry wand holsters as well?"

"Yes Sir we do Mr. Evans. We have many different grades. What kind were you interested in?"

"I want one Auror model, as well as one top of the line civilian model for my son."

"Certainly Sir." He said, reaching down and getting two boxes out from somewhere under the main counter. "That will be 50 Galleons for the auror model and another 20 for the civilian one please."

Harry2 paid for the holsters and then pushing up the right sleeve of his robes, strapped the holster onto his arm, put his new wand into it, and then pulled his sleeve back down. With a snap of his wrist the new wand flew instantly into his hand. "Perfect." He said, retracting his wand back into the holster. "Thank you Mr. McMillan, and a good day to you. Come Harry."

"Yes Father." Harry repeated again, and followed Harry2 out of the shop.

Twenty minutes later they were back in Diagon Alley and headed towards the Leaky Cauldron. Once back in Muggle London, Harry2, with his robes transfigured back into a sport coat and jeans, said to Harry. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. You want to go get something to eat?"

"Pizza?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Absolutely." Harry2 said with a smile. A smile Harry saw was genuine this time.


	6. Chapter 6 The Night Before the Next

A/N: Thanks to all who sent in reviews. They're much appreciated. Also, a friend mentioned that I should say this at least once, just to be safe.

I did not create the Harry Potter world or it's characters, J.K. Rowling did. I'm just telling a story in the Great Hall. I hope this clears up any confusion anyone may have had.

Chapter 5: The Night Before the Next Day

Harry and Harry2 (still in the guise of James Evans) got back to Privit Drive without incident, though Harry got thrown to the floor of the Knight Bus because he wasn't paying attention when it stopped. But the bruise on his shoulder was easily healed.

Before they entered however, Harry2 canceled the glamour on himself and re-disillusioned Harry, just in case the Dursley's had forgotten his warnings and decided to attack him when he came in the door. But his worries proved to be groundless, so after shouting "I'm home!" to the Dursley's, they went directly to Harry's bedroom, then after locking the door, Harry2 re-silenced the room.

After conjuring two comfortable chairs, and sitting down, Harry2 said "Well this has been a productive day." He said to Harry, "We got a lot done."

"About that, what was all that stuff about the twelve families and all the money I inherited that you started to tell me about?" Harry asked. "You said you'd tell me more when we got home."

"I did didn't I?" Harry2 asked, looking at his younger self. "Well before I tell you that, I should give you a bit of background on the history of magic so you'll know where it fits in. Why don't you have a seat. This will take a while."

"The history of magic?" Harry asked, sitting down.

"Yeah. You see, contrary to what the Pure Bloods believe, or _want_ to believe, there was a time when there were no magical humans on this planet. Modern human beings have only been here for about 50,000 years, and magical humans, witches and wizards in other words, for just over 5000."

"So did they just appear out of thin air or something?" Harry asked.

"In a way." Harry2 answered. "Have you ever heard of a man named Charles Darwin Harry?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. _The name sounds familiar. _He thought to himself. Finally he remembered. "The monkey guy right?"

Harry2 smiled. "That's him. Well Darwin had a theory that all species on earth evolved from lower, or less advanced ones through evolution, and humans were no different. He theorized that we evolved from small monkeys, became big monkeys, then finally after a couple of million years of changing, modern humans. Now eventually nature…I don't know, I guess she got bored with us, decided to cause a mutation in some of us. We were born with the ability to manipulate energy at it's base level, and energy is really what magic is when you get right down to it."

"So we're more evolved than the rest of the human population?" Asked Harry.

"Yes." Harry2 said. "Eventually, after another 10 or so thousand years, there won't be any more non magical people on this planet. They'll all be witches and wizards. Until something new comes along that is, and replaces us."

"So that means that all witches and wizards came from muggles, right?"

"Yes they did. And that one's something else the Pure Bloods don't want to admit, any more than the people of Darwin's time wanted to admit that they came from monkeys."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with the Twelve Families?" Harry asked.

"Well, after a time there were enough magical peoplein the world that they started to form their own communities and villages, and Britain was no different. They married other magical people of course, and over time, _forgot_ that there was a time where there were no magical people anywhere. They became the first Pure Bloods, and eventually they started to think that anyone who was born to parents who were not magical, were freaks or abominations of nature, and started referring to those not born of magical parents as _mudbloods, _ or people with dirty blood." Harry2 said, disgust plainly in his voice at having to say the hated word.

Harry thought about this, then finally asked "So the magical people, like our mother, that are still being born into muggle families…are they just nature doing the same thing it did in the beginning?"

"Exactly." Harry2 said. "This might not be the most complimentary way to put it, but from the point of view of nature it's the most accurate. These new witches and wizards are being created to help strengthen the breeding stock by bringing fresh blood into the magical population."

Harry really didn't want to think of his mother as _breeding stock_, but he understood what Harry2 meant. Okay, so what happened after that?" He asked.

"Well once you start getting large numbers of people living together, there are bound to be fights. One clan might have more cows than another, and the one with less gets jealous and says something like "_I should have just as many cows as they have. I'm just as good as they are. _ And so a fight breaks out, someone gets killed and the next thing you know there's a blood feud, and even more people are killed. Well things went on like this for hundreds and hundreds of years until finally someone had an idea of how to stop the feuds. They went to the twelve most powerful and wealthy families in Britain and asked them to form a Council of Justice. A place where anyone with a dispute with someone else could go and have their case heard objectively. Well, the families agreed, and the council was formed. They named it the Wizengamot, and all the members swore magical oaths to judge each case they heard fairly. The Potter Clan was one of the original twelve families, and also one of the few that haven't died out over the centuries."

"One of the few?" Harry asked. "How many are left?"

"Besides the Potters, there are three others. The Longbottom's, the Bones family, and the Dumbledore's." Harry2 told him. "Which is one of the reasons that I think Albus Dumbledore thinks he has the right to decide what's in the best interest of the Wizarding world."

"Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "Didn't you say before that he the Headmaster of Hogwarts?"

"Yup. Albus Percival Wulfric blah blah blah Dumbledore! Headmaster of Hogwarts. Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards…and all around pain in the arse!"

"You sound like you don't like him. Is he a bad Wizard like Voldemort?" asked Harry.

Harry2 was tempted to shout "YES!" but batted the thought down. "No, he isn't a _bad_ Wizard. In his own way he's doing what he thinks is the right thing for everyone, but the problem, is that he thinks that's he's the only one wise enough to decide what the right thing is, and won't usually consider the possibility that he might actually be wrong about something. He's also the reason we had to grow up with the Dursleys."

"YOU'RE SAYING THAT THAT OLD FART PUT ME…US HERE? WHY?" Harry now shouted.

"Because he wanted us to be _safe._" Harry said sarcastically.

"SAFE? Harry yelled again, his face going red with fury. "SAFE? HOW SAFE WAS I WHEN I WAS FOUR AND UNCLE VERNON THREW ME INTO MY CUPPARD WITH A BROKEN ARM FOR THREE DAYS WITH NO FOOD OR WATER AFTER I ACCIDENTLY BROKE A DINNER PLATE? HOW SAFE WAS I LAST NIGHT WHEN HE BROKE 3 OF MY RIBS?"

Harry2 could feel the magic pouring off Harry in waves._ Oh shit!_ he thought. _He's going to lose control in a moment and blow the roof off the house._ "Harry, calm down! Believe me, I know how you feel_. _But if you don't get control of yourself you'll blow up the house. At least wait till you get Dumbledore and Uncle Vernon in the same room together so you'll accomplish something."

Harry stared at his other self for a few moments then burst out laughing. Harry2 could feel the magic starting to dissipate as the boy continued to laugh. "You just had to be right again didn't you, you old bastard?" he muttered to himself.

Harry looked up, still laughing "What?" he asked, "Who had to be right?"

Harry2 smiled, but Harry didn't think it was a happy sort of smile.

"Dumbledore," he said with a sigh, "in one of the few times he actually admitted to me, or anyone else most likely, that he was wrong about something. He said "_Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young ...and I seem to have forgotten."(*) _just like _this_ old man has forgotten. I shouldn't have told you that Dumbledore put you here to be safe, at least not the way I did. I was being a smart ass and should have realized how you'd react. I'm sorry Harry."

"Don't worry about it." Harry said. "I shouldn't have gotten that mad. "

Harry2 smiled again, this time genuinely. "From what I've learned about our parents, it's two of a few things that we get from James Potter. Besides messy hair that is."

Harry laughed again, then asked, "So is there any more to the story of the Wizengamot?"

"Not too much. It was created sometime in late 11th century and kept the peace until the Wizarding world got to be too big. So they created the Ministry of Magic in 1521, and absorbed the Wizengamot into it with the original families being given the only permanent seats…as well as a few other rights and privileges that the general population doesn't have." Harry2 replied.

"What other rights?" asked Harry.

"Well for one, as the last remaining Potter, you can, at the age of 12, declare yourself Head of the Potter Family and claim your Head of House Status at Gringotts. When you do, you'll receive the Potter Family Ring." Harry2 answered. "With the ring also goes the title of Lord. So you'll officially be known as Lord Harry James Potter, Earl of Blackmoor."

"Lord? You're kidding right?" Harry asked.

"Nope. Not in the slightest, _and,_ because you'd be the head of one of the original 12 families, you could also declare yourself emancipated at any time after gaining your Head of House status. This is what I had originally intended to do to get out from under Dumbles's control when I came back."

"What do you mean by emancipated? Harry asked. "The only time I've read that word was in a book I was reading about slaves in America 150 years years ago."

"In this context, it means that you'd legally be considered an adult in the Wizarding world. You'd be able to sign your own contracts, get married, perform magic outside of school…in short, all the things that a normal adult Witch or Wizard takes for granted and can do."

"Wicked!" Harry said with a smile. "So that means nobody could make me come back to the Dursley's either, could they?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No they couldn't, at least not legally," Harry2 said, "but Dumbledore could, and _will_ try to stop you from gaining your emancipation. Even if he can't stop you from claiming Head of House status."

"How?" Harry asked. "by getting the law changed?"

"No, that's one thing he can't do. No one can." Harry2 said, shaking his head. "When the Ministry absorbed the Wizengamot, those laws were made magically binding and unchangeable, in exchange for the cooperation of the original 12, and that magical contract will exist as long as the Ministry exists. But what he _can_ do, is try to prevent you from making your declaration in the first place. Because unlike Head of House status, this has to done in front of the Wizengamot, and Dumbles is the head of the Wizengamot."

"But why does it have to be in front of the Wizengamot?" Asked Harry.

"Because normally you would make the declaration in order to claim your family seat. Which you have to be an adult to do, but in order to address the Wizengamot without being a member, you have to go to the Chief Warlock and get permission."

"And that's Dumbledore." Harry said.

"That's Dumbledore, and before he gave that permission, he's want to know why." Harry2 agreed.

"Isn't there any other way to get before the Wizengamot, without going to Dumbledore first?" Harry asked

"No, the only other way is if you're on trial for….." Harry2 stopped in mid sentence. A big smile appearing on his face. "If you're on trial for breaking the law!" He completed. "That's it!"

"Huh?" Harry asked, confused.

"It's like this Harry. If you break the law, you have to go to trial, or if is a minor law, like the _Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery_, you don't usually go before the Wizengamot. _They're far too important,_ and don't consider something petty like that worthy their time. You have a hearing in an office with someone from Improper Use of Magic Department at the Ministry, and for a first offence, you don't even have to go to the Ministry. But, and here's where this will work, _everyone_ has a right to dispute the charge, even on a first offence, and if you do dispute it, you'll be told to come into the Ministry for a hearing. When you get there, as the _legal_ Head of an Ancient and Nobel House, you can demand a full formal trial in front of the Wizengamot, and they can't refuse you. Once the trial begins, as the legal Head of House for one of the original 12, you can declare yourself emancipated and therefore not guilty, and Dumbledore can't do a bloody thing about it!"

"And I can't do that till I'm twelve, right?"

"That's right." Harry2 replied. "And that's one on the reasons I'm going to teach you Occlumency tonight. As well as a few spells, _something else_ so that you can protect yourself at Hogwarts if you need to."

"What kind of spells?" Harry asked excitedly. "And what's the _something else?"_

"A shield charm so you can block curses and jinxes. A stunning spell to knock someone out, but that won't actually hurt them, and a summoning spell so that you can summon their wand after stunning them. Harry2 replied. "With those three, Occlumency, and the knowledge of how to use them, plus the _something else_, which I'm going to leave as a surprise, you should be able to protect yourself easily enough."

"Okay," Harry said, "do I need my wand for this.?"

"No," Harry2 told him. "I'm going to use a method that hasn't been developed yet. It will implant my knowledge of the spells, as well as how to do them correctly right into your mind. After I'm finished, it'll be as if you've known for years how to do them. Same thing with Occlumency, . Although with that, it will be a completely different form. Something no one from this time has ever seen before."

"Why the different type?" asked Harry. "Why not the regular one?"

"Because regular Occlumency is extremely advanced mind magic, and it can take years to give you the level of protection that you'll have when I'm done." Harry2 told him. "I can give it to you, but there'd be no way to explain how you learned it." He explained. "But this type, which was developed by the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries, exactly mimics the shields that a natural Occlumens has. Right down to the backlash effect."

"What backlash effect?" asked Harry.

"Oh, sorry. When a person using Legilimens…that the spell someone uses to break into your mind, tries to get into the head of a _Natural Occlumens," _Harry2 continued explaining,_ "_the spell gets instantly reflected back at them ten fold. It's powerful enough to knock someone off their feet and give them a splitting headache for days, and if they're stupid enough to try a full blown attack, they'll likely end up in a coma for a month." Harry2 said with a grin as he thought about Snape.

"Okay, so how do you put this stuff in my head?" asked Harry.

"Oh that's easy enough. I get a saw, cut the top of your skull open and drop it in." Harry2 replied grinning again.

"WHAT?" Harry practically shrieked, he eyes wide.

"Harry I'm just kidding. Relax." Harry2 laughing. "You remember on Star Trek how Mr. Spock used a mind meld on people?"

Harry nodded, unsure.

"Well it's similar to that." He explained. "It's actually a modified form of Legilimency, only in this case, I'll be putting knowledge into your mind rather than taking it out, and before you ask, no it wont hurt." Harry2 said. "Although you will sense me in your mind. Okay?"

"Alright. How long will it take?" he asked.

"About 3 hours, and we'll both be tired when I'm done. But most of the weariness will have passed by morning, and you can get a few hours sleep on the train tomorrow if you need it. Okay?"

"Yeah okay. You going to do it right now?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Harry2 replied, "the sooner I start and finish, the sooner we can both get some sleep."

"Alright, so what do I have to do?" Harry asked again, more than a bit nervous.

"Come over here and sit on the floor and get into a comfortable position."

Harry did as he was asked, and Harry2 did the same so that they were both facing each other. "Good, now relax and look into my eyes."

Harry again did as he was told, and when he was staring directly into his older self's eyes he heard him say softly "_Legilimens._"

Almost immediately he felt a presence in his mind, and at first he started to panic, but almost as quickly as the panic started he relaxed as he sensed that the presence meant him no harm. Then information started flooding into his mind. Knowledge of spells and incantations he had never heard before. Strange words like _Stupify_ and _Protego._ Words he didn't know the meaning of. Then all of a sudden, he did know what they meant. _The shield charm. The Stunning Spell. This is the strangest feeling I've ever had. _He thought to himself. But it was nothing compared to when he saw walls start to form. They weren't solid looking, but rather they looked like they were make of smoke, and they got taller and taller until finally they started to curve in at the top. When the walls finally came together and joined, he realized that the whole thing looked like the inside of half a ping pong ball. Then more walls started appearing. No, not walls, but shelves. Shelves that seemed to stretch on for ever. On them had to be millions of books. He walked over to one and took one of the books down and opened it. Immediately a memory of him getting a perfect mark on a spelling test in first grade flooded into his mind. So clear it was as if it had just happened. He remembered his teacher Miss Willowdale, complementing him on doing so well. He also remembered the look of hatred he got from Dudley because he had failed the test. _These are all my memories!_ He thought. _All my memories are being organized like a library._ He put the book back and pulled down another one from a different shelf. When he opened this one he remembered being chased up a tree by Ripper, Aunt Marge's dog. He closed the book quickly and put it back. He didn't want to remember this right now.

After what seemed like only ten minutes or so, the strange feeling he got in the beginning returned as all the shelves started to sink back into the floor. When they were gone, he noticed that the light was beginning to fade. _What?_ He thought. _What's happening. Why's it getting dark? What the hell is going…_"

oooOOOooo

"Harry?" he heard a voice call him. "You okay? Come out of it."

Harry opened his eyes slowly and saw his older self looking at him, Concern on his face. "What…what happened? What happened to all the books?" he asked.

"Welcome back." Older Harry said to him. "How do you feel?"

"Really tired." He replied.

"I'm not surprised. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to build your Occlumency walls and organize all your memories." Harry2 told him.

"What?" Harry asked. "Ah…how long?"

Harry2 smiled. "Almost four and a half hours. You had a…lot of jumbled up memories that had to be sorted through. More than I remembered."

"Four hours? How? You only started ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago. How can it have been four hours?" he asked, still groggy.

"Time seems to pass a lot faster in a mindscape." Harry2 said. "Believe me, it's been over four hours. It's nearly 11pm in fact."

Harry groaned. "I need to get some sleep." He finally said.

"Yeah, you and me both. I haven't worked this hard in 20 years. Come on, lets get you to bed. "

Harry2 helped his younger self to get up off the floor and over to his bed. Then after pulling off his shoes, threw the covers over him. "Goodnight Harry." He said, but got no answer. The boy was already asleep.

Harry2 walked slowly over to the corner of the small room, and after transfiguring the broken television set Dudley had put his foot through the year before into a cot, he lay down himself and was soon asleep.

_(*) Quote from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, page728. UK Edition._


	7. Chapter 7 Kings Cross Station

A/N: Thanks to all who sent in reviews. Again, they're much appreciated.

(Even the critical ones.)

Chapter 6: Kings Cross Station

London: 3:30 am.

As Hedwig ghosted her way through the night skies of London, she thought to herself, _I have a strange human…no two humans. But I like them. I won't be bored with my life as long as they're around._

She looked down and spotted her destination, a large white building that, although she didn't know it, was modeled after the Acropolis in Athens. She flew around until she spotted the entrance. A small door, made specially made for post owls. She didn't know how she knew it would be there, only that she did. She landed on a perch inside and waited for someone to notice that she had arrived, and despite the hour, it didn't take long before someone did. The goblin who arrived took the letter she had tied to her foot, and looked at it, his eyes widening when he saw who it was addressed to, and then to the runic marking at the bottom. After telling the owl where she could find food and water, he rushed off to deliver the letter to it's addressee. It would not do to delay this. He liked having his head attached to his shoulders.

Arriving at the door he knocked once, and heard "Come!" from within.

Going quickly into the office, he stopped at the desk. 'Yes?"

"A letter just arrived for you Director. One bearing your mark." Said the goblin handing the letter over.

Ragnok looked at it for a moment and then opened it. Reading it quickly, a smile appeared on his face. "Clever." He said. "This will prove interesting." And then looking up at the goblin said. "That will be all. Thank you."

The goblin bowed his head and left the office thinking to himself. _The Director thanked me? He's never done that before. _

oooOOOooo

The next morning Harry woke early, despite the tiring night before. He glanced over to the other side of his small room and saw his older self still asleep on the cot. Getting up, he went over an poked him in the shoulder. "Wake up." He said. Harry2 groaned and mumbled something unintelligible, but opened his eyes. "Morning." Harry said.

"Good morning," Harry2 mumbled. "what time is it?"

"Nearly 7:30. The Dursleys should be getting up soon cause Uncle Vernon has to go to work." Harry said. 'And we have to get ready to go to the train station."

_7:30?_ Harry2 thought. _If he weren't me I'd kill him for waking me this early. _But then he remembered the excitement he had felt the day he first went to Hogwarts all those years ago, and his thoughts softened. "

"Well then, I guess I better get up then." Harry2 said, rubbing his eyes. "After all, we only have 5 hours to get ready. We wouldn't want to miss the train would we?" Harry said with a smile.

Harry went red. "Well, I didn't know how long it would take to get ready, and I didn't want to be late." He said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it Harry. It's just as well. I wanted to check that your Occlumency shields are in place before you left anyway. Why don't you go and take a shower now, and I'll do the same in my flat, and we'll check when you get back?"

"Okay."

oooOOOooo

Hogwarts – Severus Snapes private chambers.

Severus Snape was also up early. In fact he had hardly slept the night before. All he could think about had been Harry Potter. _Potters brat is coming tomorrow. _He said to himself. _On top of all the other crap I have to put up with trying to teach those other idiots, now I have to deal with the son of James Bloody Potter. But you don't know he'll be like his father, _another part of his said. _He could take after Lilly. She was his mother after all. _But he pushed those thoughts aside. Thinking about Lilly Evans Potter still hurt, even after all the years that had passed. _No, he'll be just like accursed father. How could he not, after growing up hearing all about the famous Marauders and their exploits? That plus the Potter family money….he'll be more insufferable than Draco is._

Snape continued pacing the room for another hour, all the time muttering "Potter" and "not fair" under his breath. Finally he decided that he's go up to the Great Hall and get something to eat. Maybe 6 or 7 cups of tea would calm him down.

oooOOOooo

In another part of the castle, another person was also pacing back and forth. Minerva McGonagall, was deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Transfiguration Professor, and also Head of Gryffindor House. But unlike Severus Snape, she was looking forward to seeing the son of two of her favourite students, a boy she had last seen the night his parents were murdered. _What will he be like after living the last 9 ½ years with those muggles? _ She asked herself with a slight shudder, as she remembered all too well the day she had spend observing the Dursleys before Dumbledore (over her objections) had left Harry on their doorstep in the middle of the night with nothing more than a letter explaining what happened to the adult Potters. Telling them that they now had to raise Harry because they were his last living blood relatives.

She had tried over the years to get the old Headmaster to let her visit Harry so she could make sure he was being cared for properly, but he had forbidden it every time. Telling her that it was better if Harry had no contact with the magical world till he turned 11 and came to Hogwarts, and that when he did arrive, he's come not as some famous pampered prince, but as a normal boy.

Part of her could see the logic in that, but another part (the louder of the two) kept telling her that it was wrong to isolate Harry from their world. But Dumbledore, in the end, got his way as usual, and Harry was left to be raised by his non magical _family_.

_So help me Dumbledore, _she said to herself, _that boy had better have been raised right, or you'll answer to me._

oooOOOooo

After getting back from his shower, Harry found Harry2 sitting on the floor dressed, and motioning him to do the same. "Okay, this will only take a few moments and we can go downstairs and get something to eat before we leave." Harry2 said.

"But I thought we weren't eating with them anymore….I thought we were just gonna go." Harry replied.

"Oh we are, but I didn't want to just leave without saying _goodbye_. That would be rude Harry. They are our relatives after all." Harry2 said with

A grin.

"Okay…so will it be _me,_ or you again that talks to them?" Harry asked.

"Oh it will be me. I don't want to take the chance that they've forgotten our last conversation, and I want to talk to them about next summer."

"Do we _have_ to come back here?" Harry asked, correctly guessing to topic of the forthcoming talk.

"Yes we do unfortunately. But it won't be that bad. You won't have to stay here much after you're 12th birthday. Maybe a week. After that, well both be able to move into Potter Manor and be rid of the Dursleys forever."

"So what are you going to tell them about next summer?" asked Harry.

"Just that you'll be back for one more summer, and then gone for good. _And_ not to tell anyone about it. Otherwise you'll have to stay here every year till you're seventeen. I think that will be incentive enough to keep them quiet. Now let's check your shields. Just look into me eyes again like last night."

Harry did as he was asked, but unlike the night before, felt nothing when he heard Harry saying _Legilimens._

After only a minute or two, He heard Harry2 say. "Good. They're rock solid. It's going to be something to see Snape's face when he tries to peer into your mind for the first time." He added chuckling. "He going to think someone slammed his head into a stone wall."

"About that. Won't he be mad? And could doing that be considered attacking a teacher?"

"Oh he'll be absolutely incensed. First the fact that you kicked him of all people out, _and _the fact that you're James Potter's son…that will make it ten times worse. But, attacking a teacher? No. The Ministry considers any action taken to repel an illegal Legilimens attack as perfectly legal. Technically you could kill him and it would be legal. But that won't be necessary. Snape may be a terrible teacher, but he's no fool. Once he believes you're a natural Occlumens, he'll give up."

Harry2 got up. "Now what do you say we go downstairs and say Goodbye?"

"Okay."

oooOOOooo

When they got to the kitchen, they found it empty, so Harry2 started cooking breakfast for the Dursleys. But this time it was a normal one. At the same time he used wandless magic to prepare Harry's and his, which was ready in 2 minutes, and eaten 5 minutes later, and the dishes cleaned and put away.

With a wave of his hand he made Harry invisible again so he could watch from the sidelines. The Dursley arrived in the kitchen a few moments later.

Petunia was the first to enter and stopped dead in her tracks upon see her nephew. "Oh don't worry Aunt Petunia. I just want to talk to all of you one last time before I leave, and decided that out of the goodness of my heart, I'd make you breakfast one last time."

"Wh…what do you mean, _one last time?"_ she asked nervously as Vernon and Dudley also came in, and after a fearful glance at _Harry,_ sat down also.

"Just that. This is the last time I'll be making breakfast for you lot. After today, you'll have to make your own." He said. And then with a flick of his hand, plates and silverware flew out of the cupboard and drawer and sat themselves on the table. Next came three plates with bacon and sausages, eggs, and toast.

"You've probably poisoned it all!" Vernon sputtered at the display of magic.

"Nice thought, but no." Harry2 replied with a smile, and then reached out and took a piece of bacon off the plate and started to eat it. "You're not worth the legal trouble. I made it because I was bored waiting for you to come down, and I wanted to tell you about next summer."

"You told us you weren't coming back after you left." Vernon sputtered.

"No, I said I'd try to arrange it so I didn't have to come back. Well it didn't work out so I will be back for the summer. But the rest will be as I told you. You won't see me unless I'm comin in or going out. And when I leave for school next September, that _will _ be the last time you see me. So enjoy your breakfast. I'll be leaving in about an hour."

Harry2 got up and left the kitchen with the invisible Harry close behind. When they got back to Harry's room and secured the door Harry grinned and asked, "Do you think they'll eat it?"

"Who cares?" Harry2 said nonchalantly. "It's not like Vernon or Dudley will starve if they miss a meal. You better get packed," Harry2 said glancing at the clock, "It's nearly 9, and I'd like to get to the station and on the train before the heavy crowds arrive."

"Okay."

oooOOOooo

The packing, such as it was, didn't take long as most of it was already done. Harry's trunk only took him 10 minutes to pack up, as he only had a few books to put away and his pajamas, and when this was done Harry2 waved his hand at it. "Now you'll be able to lift it without breaking your back," He told Harry. "and If anybody asks you, which I doubt they will, just tell them the place you bought it at put a _feather-weight _charm on it for you, okay?"

Harry nodded as Harry turned to his own trunk, and with another wave shrunk the trunk down to the size of a pack of cigarettes and then pocketed it. Then after picking up Hedwig, who was now in her cage and handing her to Harry, asked "Ready to get out of this place?"

"No, I think we should stay here for the rest of the year." Harry replied cheekily.

"Smart ass." Harry2 said with a smile. Come-on, lets go."

oooOOOooo

The trip to Kings Cross went without a hitch, although the trip on the Knight Bus was just as un-pleasant as the last time, and an hour later they found themselves at the station. "So where's this platform 9 ¾ ?" Harry asked.

"Right here," Harry2 replied, pointing to a rather non-descript wall between Platform 9 and 10. "You just walk straight towards the wall and keep going. It's charmed so only witches and wizards can pass through."

"You want me to walk into a wall?"

"Not _into_ the wall, through it. Don't worry, you won't crash into it."

Harry looked at his other self uncertainly, but figured _He hasn't lied to me yet. I don't think he's going to start now, _and walked towards the wall, closing his eyes at the last second.

The expected crash of course didn't happen, and when Harry opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a huge red and gold steam locomotive, with the words "HOGWARTS EXPRESS" written in bold letters on the front.

"It's something isn't it?" a voice asked.

Harry turned to see who had spoken to him but saw no one. "Don't worry, it's just me." Harry2 said softly. "I'm just invisible, We can't have people seeing two Harry Potters on the train can we?"

"No I guess not." Harry replied. "So will you stay this way till we get to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, and unless we're alone don't talk to me. Even in the wizarding world, talking to yourself isn't a good sign. If I want to talk, I'll tap you on the shoulder, and you can go to the toilet. Okay?"

"No problem. Do you want to get on board now?"

"Not just yet. Lets wait for a while. I'm waiting for someone else to arrive."

"Someone else…who?" asked Harry.

"You'll see."

They found a bench and sat down to wait. Harry looked up at the clock and saw that it was 10:15. 45 minutes till the train left. While he waited he wondered who older Harry was waiting for, but with all the people that were starting to arrive he didn't want to ask his invisible companion.

The wait wasn't too long though, only 10 minutes in fast when he heard Harry whisper "There she is. She just came through the portal."

Harry looked over to where he had come through and saw a young, bushy haired girl pulling what looked to be a _very_ heavy trunk. He also noticed that she looked scared. "Who is she?" he asked.

"Hermione Granger. Muggleborn witch, and easily the most intelligent person I've ever met..." Harry2 replied, and then so softly that Harry almost didn't hear him, "and a dear friend. Let's give a few minutes to get on board and get settled. Then we'll go and you can ask her if she'd mind if you sat with her in her cabin."

"Alright, but what if she says no?" asked Harry.

"She grew up with almost no friends, much like us, but for different reasons. So I doubt she will say no.."

"What different reasons?"

"When I said she was intelligent, I should have said frighteningly intelligent. So much so that she was teased and tormented and called a _know it all_ nearly all the time she was in school, and the more that happened, the more she retreated into her books. So when she finds out who you are, don't be surprised when she starts quoting you chapter and verse the entire story of your life."

"She sounds like someone who could be very annoying, and bossy."

Harry2 laughed softly. "Well…yeah. She can be." Impressed that Harry made this connection so fast, "But it's only because she don't know any better at this point in her life. Give her a chance to change. She's worth it. And with good friends around, she will change."

Harry thought about this for a few moments then asked. "She was one of the friends you lost…that died during the war wasn't she?"

"Yes she was Harry. But if you don't mind I'd rather not talk about it. Maybe someday I'll tell you about it, but not now."

Harry didn't say anything to that, but wondered to himself, _Should I ask about this later on…..No. It isn't something he wants to talk about. If it was something important, he'd tell me about it no matter how bad it was. _

Harry2 remained silent. Lost in thought. He knew it would be painful seeing Hermione again, But this….

-BEGIN FLASKBACK-

_September 23, 2002, 12:30 am – Cornwall, UK  
_

_Harry was crouched down behind a blue BMW, Hermione on one side and Remus Lupin on the other. "You sure Peter's in there Remus?" He asked Lupin, gesturing to the old 3 story brownstone in front of them. _

_"That's what the intelligence said." Replied Lupin. "He's holed up there with Snape, Malfoy and Lestrange, and they using the place as safe house and launch point for whatever raids Voldemort sends them on."_

_Harry nodded. "Well lets get this over with. The sooner they're dead the sooner we can get out of here and back to Hogwarts." Then turning to Hermione asked, "You ready?"_

_She nodded that she was. "Okay let's do this."_

_The three had just started out from behind the BMW they were using for cover when it started. Spell fire began to rain down on them from 3 directions at once. "SHIT!" Harry swore. "GET DOWN!" He looked around and saw people in dark robes and white masks coming out from behind fences and houses. "IT'S A TRAP," he yelled, "WE'VE BEEN SET UP! PORTKEY OUT, NOW!" But when they tried, nothing happened. "They must have put up anti portkey wards as soon as they saw us. We have to make it to the edge of them if we're going to get out of here. Come on. Use the cars for cover."_

_It seemed to take hours, but slowly they made their way one at a time, car by car down the once quiet street. Trading spell fire all the way. Finally they got near the end of the block. One car left before they had to make an open dash across the street intersection to the next block. Harry made a dash for the last car and felt himself pass through the edge of the wards. "Come on, this is the edge of the wards. One more and we can get out."_

_Hermione went first, and making it safely, crouched down next to Harry. "REMUS," she yelled, "MOVE!" but as he started to get up to run a red beam of light hit him in the arm, and sent his wand flying. He grunted in pain and clutching his arm, sank back down to the ground._

_"Are you alright?" Hermione yelled out to him. "Yeah," Lupin managed to get out after looking at his arm. "It's not that bad. Just give me a minute."_

_"We don't have a minute" Harry said looking around and seeing A mob of about thirty Death Eaters now coming down the middle of the street. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW, OR WE WON'T GET OUT!"_

_Lupin nodded and started to get back up, Harry looking up the street at the converging group. Then he saw Lupin's eyes go wide, and he yelled "HARRY! LOOK OUT!" _

_As he started to turn he saw a blur move in front of his line of sight and a purple light flash in front of him. Then he saw the Death Eater that had somehow flanked their position and come in from the corner. He raised his wand and shouted "REDUCTO!" His spell hit the man in the chest dead center, and blew a hole in it clear through it, spraying the street behind with gore. Then he saw her. Hermione had been hit in the neck with what could only have been a slashing curse. The spell had cut through the veins in her neck and blood was gushing out onto the street. He clamped his hand over the wound and said "Hermione hold on. You're gonna be okay." She smiled at that and said faintly "You've always been a terrible liar Harry." _

_"Hermione…"_

_But he was interrupted by Lupin, who, un-noticed by Harry, had made his way over to them. "HARRY, WE HAVE TO GO NOW! "he yelled._

_"But Hermione is hurt Remus. We have to stop the bleeding first."_

_"Harry, she's gone. We'll take her with us but we have to get the hell out of here."_

_Harry looked down again at his friend and saw that she was still. Her eyes staring blankly out into nothing. "NOOOOO!" he screamed. Then getting up pointed his wand at the approaching mob and screamed "__CONFRINGO!"_

_Remus raised his good arm up in front of his eyes as the beam of bright white light surged out of Harry's wand straight towards the mob of Death Eaters. It struck the road right in front of them, and in a strange quirk of irony that he would find out about three days later, hit the main gas line for Cornwall, buried 6 feet underground. The 8 inch pipe erupted in an explosion that not only killed the Death Eaters, but blew a hole in the street 8 feet deep and almost 50 across. _

_"My God." Lupin whispered when he finally moved his arm away and saw the damage. "Harry, we have to go now." But Harry didn't answer him. He had knelt back down and was holding his friend in his arms. "Harry, we have to go before the muggle authorities come and find us here." But when he saw that Harry still wasn't responding, he added, "We have to get Hermione out of here Harry."_

_Slowly, Harry looked up at him, and then back down at the woman that had become closer to him than a sister. He nodded silently and said. "Go. I'll bring her home."_

_"Do you need any help?" Lupin asked._

_"No." Harry said, and slowly began to get up, Hermione cradled in his arms. "You couldn't anyway, not with your arm. Go, I'll be right behind you."_

_"Harry, are you…"_

_"GO REMUS!"_

_Lupin nodded, and then grasping the medallion around his neck said. "Home." and was gone._

_Harry looked down at Hermione's face and leaning over, kissed her softly on the lips. "I'm so sorry Hermione. But I'll get him. I'll get them all. Then grabbing his own medallion, said "Home." and they flashed out._

-END FLASKBACK-

_I won't let it happen again Hermione. Not again!. _Harry2 said to himself . He was still thinking about his friend when he was brought back to reality by a voice next to him. "Harry, it's been nearly 15 minutes. Shouldn't we be getting on the train?" Harry asked quietly, so as not to attract any attention.

Harry blinked and then looked up at the clock. 10:35 it read. "Yeah you're right. We better get on board.

A/N: Sorry about the wait. The flashback scene took forever. I re-wrote it so many times I've lost count. It's still not what I want, but it'll have to do for now.

TD


	8. Chapter 8 Aboard The Hogwarts Express

A/N: Thanks to all who sent in reviews.

Chapter 7: Aboard The Hogwarts Express

As the two Harrys made their way to the red express train, both were thinking different thoughts. Younger Harry was wondering why they would use a steam train rather than a more modern one, while his older self was lost in his own thoughts. They no longer used the Hogwarts Express by the time he became Headmaster, as it had been destroyed in a Death Eaters attack early in the war. Afterwards however, the wizarding community who loved their traditions, had tried to bring the old train back, but it wasn't to be. The Express had been too heavily damaged to be repaired even with magic. So from that point on, students came to school with either Ministry provided portkeys, or by flooing directly into Hogsmead, where the school carriages would pick them up. First years though, still made their first trip into the school by boat across the lake.

Harry had wondered about this, and when he first started teaching at Hogwarts, had asked the then Headmaster why the firsties still had to come across the Black Lake. He had been surprised to learn that there was an enchantment on the lake, and that that was the only way for someone to get into the school unless they had been a student before. Crossing the lake allowed the magic that protected Hogwarts from outsiders to adjust and recognize these _outsiders_ as new students.

Harry was having trouble getting his trunk up the rather narrow stairs of the coach, and despite wanting to do it himself, had to get his older self to help. Even though the trunk was practically weightless, it still had size and mass, and was hard to maneuver. He had wished he could have just had his trunk shrunk down so he could carry it in his pocket, but Harry2 said it would be out of the ordinary, and might raise too many questions. Better to be "Just like everyone else."

After helping get the trunk on board, Harry2 said goodbye to Harry, told him to have a good year, and that he would see him at Christmas break. Harry, knowing this was for the benefit of anyone watching, went along with the ruse, and then watched as _James Evans_ left the train.

Harr2, who had extended his senses to see if indeed anyone was paying any attention to them felt no one as he got off the Express. He quickly walked to the exit portal and passed back into the muggle portion of Kings Cross Station. Upon arriving he found a public toilet and reverted back to his true and much smaller appearance. Satisfied he quickly cast another, and much more powerful glamour to make himself invisible. Unlike the simple one he had used at the Dursleys, this one couldn't be detected by magic. Even Mad-Eye Moody's eye wouldn't see him. But most importantly, the Hogwarts wards wouldn't detect him. The knowledge gained by being Headmaster for over 100 years definitely had it's advantages. Satisfied, he exited the toilet and made his way back to the entrance to Platform 9 ¾. Passing through, he went back to the train and went aboard, and started looking for his younger self. He found him in the last cabin of the car, sitting and talking with a young, bushy haired girl. He smiled.

oooOOOooo

Harry watched as his older self left the train, and then made his way down the car looking for the girl they had both seen earlier. He found her at the end of the carriage, sitting by herself.

Hermione Granger was looking out the window when she was startled by the sound of the cabin door opening. She looked up and saw a young boy her age, with messy black hair. He said. "Excuse me, but would it be okay with you if I sat in here? I'm kinda new to this whole magic thing, and I'd rather not sit alone."

oooOOOooo

Ron Weasley wasn't happy. He was in fact pissed off. His mother had called him into the kitchen yesterday to tell him that Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts where he would be starting the next day, had told her that Harry Potter would be starting school that year, and had asked her and her family if they would look out for the boy. She told Ron that Harry had no friends in the Magical world, and that she would like him to get to know the boy and to be his friend when they got to school.

Ron of course had heard of Harry Potter. (Who hadn't?) The Potter's had been one of the richest family's in the Wizarding world until they were killed, and Harry Potter, as the last of the Potters, had inherited all of that money. Millions and millions of Galleons, and houses all over the world. Not to mention servants seeing to his every want and need. Then there was the fame. Everyone knew who he was. There were hundreds of books written about Harry Potter and how he had defeated "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" when he was just a baby. His sister Ginny even had a Harry Potter doll and play set that she gotten three years ago at Christmas, and while she no longer played with it because she was too old for that sort of thing…she was ten after all, she still considered ut one of her most prized possessions.

Ron didn't have a Harry Potter doll. Dolls were for little girls and _"Foo foo boys"_ as his older brother Percy called them. Ron didn't really know what a "_Foo foo boy_" was, but from the sound of Percy, he knew he wouldn't like them. Instead, he had four posters of the best Quidditch team in the world. The Chudley Cannons, as well as a book all about the history of the team.

The Weasley family, though they were Purebloods, weren't rich. In fact, they were dirt poor. They lived on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole in a house that only stood because magic held it up, and held it together. Ron's father, Arthur Weasley worked at the Ministry of Magic in a virtually unknown department, and as such, made barely enough money for his family to survive. In fact if it weren't for his two older brothers, Charlie and Bill sending money home to help out, they wouldn't have survived. In short, Ron had almost nothing, and he didn't like it. He was a pureblood for Merlin's sake! He deserved better than this…and now his mother tells him that she and Dumbledore want him to be friends with this rich boy? Mental, the whole lot of them!

oooOOOooo

Meanwhile, back aboard the Hogwarts Express…

"I'm sorry, what did you say? I was looking out the window and didn't hear most of what you said." Hermione Granger said.

"Do you mind if I sit in here with you? I'm new to this whole magic thing, and I'd rather not sit alone." Harry repeated.

Hermione looked at him for a moment. Nobody had ever asked to sit with her before, but before she knew it she replied, "Sure, I don't mind."

"Thank you," Harry said, pulling his trunk into the compartment and placing it in the corner, "the only other wizard I've ever met was the man who came to bring me to Diagon Alley to get my school supplies, and even he had to tell me I was magical because my relatives never bothered to."

"So you're Muggleborn like me?" Hermione asked.

"Well, not really. My parents were a witch and wizard, but they were killed when I was a baby, so I've been living with my aunt and uncle ever since. They hate magic and anything else they consider, _abnormal, _me included. So while I'm not Muggleborn, I may as well be. I only found out I was a wizard when I got my letter." Harry replied sitting down across from the girl.

"Oh, so you don't really know anything about this world then?" Hermione asked.

"Only what I've read." Harry replied. "I got a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ when I was getting my school books, and managed to read it in three days. So I know a bit about the magical world, but now I wish I had gotten a few other history books. Something that told me more about the Wizarding world rather than just the school. What about you, have you been able to find out anything about all this?" Harry asked her.

"I bought a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ as well. I wanted to know more about the school I was going to, what they teach, and how they teach it. But it seemed to be a bit on the thin side. I know it's over 600 pages, but it's covering over 1000 years. You'd think there'd be more they could have written about. I'm Hermione Granger by the way, and you are?"

Harry noticed that the girl had managed to say all of this in one breath.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you Hermione. "Harry answered.

"Harry Potter? Are you really?" she asked, noticing for the first time the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. "Oh I've read all about you in one of the books I got at Flourish and Blotts. All about how you defeated _You Know Who_ when you were a baby, and how you became a hero in the Wizarding world."

"Yeah, well I've heard all about me as well. Most of it from Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundkeeper who came to get me the first time so I could get my school things, and some from other people I met in Diagon Alley. I think most of the stuff about me is made up just so they could sell books."

Hermione frowned at the thought of something she'd read not being true. "But they have a whole Harry Potter section in Flourish and Blotts. How can all those books be untrue?" Hermione asked.

Harry2 had warned his younger self about this topic when it came to Hermione, so he knew he had to ease her into the idea that not everything she read was correct. "Hermione, I found out from Hagrid that it was him that rescued me from the wreckage of the house after my parents were killed. He was the first one on the scene after…after it happened, and I was the only one alive in the house. My mother and father were dead, and Voldemort…"

Hermione sucked in a breath.

"had been destroyed. All that was left of him was his robes. So nobody knows what really happened that night, me included because I was a baby, and I don't remember any of it." Harry told her. So anything that's been written about me except for the basic facts, is just guesswork."

"You said _You-You Know Who's_ name!" Hermione managed to stammer out.

"Yes I said Voldemort's name."

Hermione's breath hitched again at the mention of the name.

"You know, I kinda know why other people do that, but I don't understand why someone who's Muggleborn would be so frightened by his name. It's not like Voldemort is going to pop up like some kind of psychotic boogie man and murder everyone in sight if someone says his name. He's dead."

"But everything I've read about him says that he was one of the most powerful and evil Wizards who ever lived, and…"

"And being afraid of the _wizard _is logical. But being afraid of just his name…that's illogic taken to the extreme." Harry said. "Look, VOLDEMORT!" he said loudly. "See? Nothing. It's just a name Hermione. Nothing else. Say it."

"You want me to say V…_You Know Who's_ name?" she asked, fear in her voice.

"Trust me, nothing bad will happen. Say it."

For a long time Hermione said nothing. She knew in her head that what the boy was telling her made sense, but everything she'd read told her differently. Finally, gathering up her courage she said "Vol…Vold….Voldemort." and then flinched as if expecting a blow.

But Harry smiled. "You see?" he asked her. "You said his name and you're still alive. It's _just_ a name, and a badly made up one at that. _Flight from Death? _ Please."

Hermione looked at Harry when he said this, and Harry, who could see here connecting the dots in her mind simply smiled again and nodded.

"Oh God I feel so stupid!" Hermione said, burying her head in her hands.

Harry reached out and put his hand on her arm and said. "Hermione don't feel stupid. You made a mistake. Nothing more."

"No," she said, "it's more than that. What about all the things I believed about you, everything I've read?" she asked, and by the sound in her voice, Harry could tell she was crying. "I thought that if I read everything I could about the Wizarding world I'd be prepared. But now I see I'm nothing but a silly little girl. I shouldn't even be here."

"Hermione Granger, " Harry said forcefully, "You are NOT a silly little girl, and you do belong in this world every bit as much as I do, and I wont have anyone saying bad things about my friend. Not even if she's saying it about herself."

Hermione looked up. "Your…your friend? Why would you want me as a friend. I'm nothing but a bushy haired bookworm. My whole life is books. I didn't even have any friends in primary school because everyone thought I was a brain."

"Hermione, I've been alone all my life. Well at least as long as I can remember." Harry said softly. "Every time I started to make friends with someone, either at school or in my neighborhood, my cousin Dudley chased them off, telling them he'd beat them up if they came back. So like you, I retreated into books, and spent as much time in our school and local library as I could. It was the only place I felt accepted. In fact, this is the longest conversation I had with someone my own age that I can remember."

Hermione had stopped crying, but continued to look at him, looking for any sign that he was lying to her. She found none.

"So yes, I do want to be your friend. Unless you don't want to be." Harry added.

Hermione started crying again, but said "I'd like that."

"How about we start over?" Harry asked, and then sticking out his hand said "Hi, I'm Harry Potter."

Hermione took his hand and answered, "I'm Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you Harry."

oooOOOooo

Outside the cabin, Harry2 had been discretely listening in on their conversation. _I knew Hermione was lonely growing up, but I never knew it was that bad. _ He thought to himself. _The two of them exactly alike. No friends, almost no self worth. Getting to know each other this early should really help both of them. Then if they can add Neville to their little group, and Luna next year…Luna. Oh Merlin! Luna is so messed up at this point in her life…but their friendship should be able to nudge her out from behind the walls she's built around herself, and if my plan works, I'll be able to help things along as well._

Harry2 very quietly apparated directly into the cabin across from Harry and Hermione and then cast a powerful notice me not charm on the entire cabin so that no students would come into it and find him there. It would also prevent someone from bumping into him while he was invisible. He looked at his watch. _10:50 _he thought, _the Weasleys should be arriving right about now._

oooOOOooo

Out on the main platform, the Weasley family was indeed arriving. Nearly late as usual. "Come on, come on you lot. We have to get to the platform now. There's only ten minutes left before the train leaves." Molly Weasley anxiously told her brood. "Percy, you go first. Fred, George, you next. Ron will go last and then I'll come through with Ginny." Percy Weasley started off at a slow run towards the entrance to platform 9 ¾ while Molly looked around for a black haired boy with glasses.

_I wonder where he is? _She asked herself. _Albus said Hagrid had forgotten to tell him how to get onto the platform. He shouldn't be too hard to spot though. How many other people will have a white owl with them in a cage?_

As Molly continued to scan the area for Harry Potter, her children continued to push their carts through the entrance to the magical world. Finally there was only herself and her daughter Ginny left. "Mum, why are we still here? Everybody has gone to the platform." Molly looked down at her daughter and then up at one of the cocks in the station and saw that it was two minutes to eleven.

"You're right, come on Ginny, we better go now or we'll miss seeing the rest off. I hope the boy is all right and got to the train."

"What boy mum? Who are you talking about?" Ginny asked.

"What? Oh nothing Ginny. Just someone Professor Dumbledore asked me to keep an eye out for. But he must have found his way to the train by himself." Molly answered, hoping that was in fact the truth.

The pair got onto Platform 9 ¾ just in time to see the train preparing to pull out of the station to begin it's 5 hour trip to Scotland. "Wave to your brothers Ginny. You won't see them again till next summer."

Ginny waved to her brothers, wishing she was going with them. At least last year she had Ron still with her at home. This year she's be all alone, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

oooOOOooo

Back on the express however, Harry and Hermione were in considerably better moods. They had continued to talk about magic, about Hogwarts, and about Hermione's parents being dentists. Harry had told her about his "_family_" and how they hated magic and had never told him he was a wizard. Even though he now knew that they had known since he was left with them. He was amazed how well he was getting alone with this girl, a girl he had only met 25 minutes before, but felt like he had known forever.

Hermione Granger for her part felt exactly the same way. She had been talking to this boy, the famous Harry Potter of all people for less than a half hour and already she felt she had known him all her life. He had grown up just as lonely as she had. Sure she had her parents, and she knew they loved her dearly, but still it wasn't the same. She had had no one her own age to talk to. Even in school there was nobody who liked her. She was the "Bucked Toothed Brain" to nearly all the other children in her year. She knew of course that this was because they felt threatened and insecure by her intelligence and her drive to be the best in her class, but all the same, she would have liked at least one friend. Now she had found someone that was more like herself than she had ever dared to dream. Harry was smart. He liked to read and learn new things, not because he had to, but because he _wanted_ to. Now if only…

But she was startled out of her thoughts be the sound of the cabin door sliding open. She look up and saw a round faced boy standing there, looking very nervous. "Excuse me," he began, "but do you mind if I sit in here with you? There are no more empty cabins on the train."

Hermione looked at Harry to see what he thought, but Harry just smiled and said "It's okay with me. Hermione?"

"Of course, come in." she said. "I'm Hermione Granger by the way, and this is…"

"Harry Potter." Harry answered.

The boy looked at the two, and then his gaze drifted to Harry forehead and saw the lightning bolt shaped scar on it. "You-you're Harry Potter?" he managed to stammer out.

Harry decided to try a little humor and said, "That's me. Harry Potter. Vanquisher of dark Lords, hero extraordinaire. " It didn't have the effect he had hoped for. If anything it seemed to make the boy even more nervous.

"I-I'm sorry." He said. "I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll find another cabin." He said starting to turn to leave. But before he could Harry had gotten up and put his hand on his shoulder. "Please, you don't have to leave. We have plenty of room in here. Have a seat…I'm sorry I don't know your name."

"Nev-Neville. Neville Longbottom." The boy answered.

"Well Neville, like I said, you don't have to leave. Besides, you already said there were no more empty cabins

"But you're Harry Potter….why…why would you want me in here?"

"Why not?" Harry answered, and before Neville could give him an answer, he added. "I'm not Prince Charles Neville, and Hermione here , isn't Princess Diana. We're both just two normal kids going to school, just like you. So why don't you have a seat?"

Warily, Neville took a seat next to Hermione. He still seemed to be afraid of Harry. "I don't understand. You're Harry Potter. You defeated _You Know Who_ when you were a baby. How can you say you're a normal kid?" Neville turned slightly white after saying this, realizing how it sounded. "I-I didn't mean anything b-bad by that." He stammered, "I only meant…"

Harry smiled. "I know how you meant it Neville. I know all about Harry Potter and the legend of _The Boy Who Lived_," Harry made quote marks in the air as he said _The Boy Who Lived,_ "but that all it is, a legend. Nobody knows what happened that night, me included. So everything you've ever heard or read about me is just guesswork."

"But what about _You Know Who_? You defeated him when you were a baby. You mean that didn't happen?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, Voldemort was destroy…" but Harry was stopped mid sentence when this time went completely white and looked as if he were about to pass out. Harry jumped up, grabbed Neville by the shoulders and forced his head down between his legs. "Easy Neville, just try to relax. You'll feel better in a few moments." Harry told him. He looked over at Hermione who had a shocked look on her face and seemed to say with a look. _Sorry. If I knew he's react like that I wouldn't have said it. _

Finally he heard Neville say "I'm okay now, you can let me up." Harry did and Neville, still a bit white but looking better than he had asked. "What was that you did?"

"I was raised as a muggle, and in school, one of the classes they teach is Basic Emergency First Aid. It's taught by the St. Johns Ambulance people. Harry explained. "You were about to faint, so by forcing your head down, it pushed the blood back up to you head and prevented that from happening. How are you feeling now?"

"Better. Thanks." And then realizing what had caused the whole thing he blurted out "You said _You Know Who's _ name!"

"Yes I said Vol…his name. I admit I don't know that much about the wizarding world yet, but this whole _You Know Who _or _He Who Must Not Be Named_ thing is the biggest load of horse shit I've ever heard. It's just a name, and names can't hurt you."

"But, _NOBODY_ says his name." Neville practically whimpered.

"Well then, it's about time they did. I mean it's not like he's going to pop up every time someone says…" Harry looked Neville in the eyes. "Are you going to be okay if I say his name again Neville? I'd rather not have think ahead of what I'm saying."

Neville nodded. "I should be. I think it was just the shock of hearing it. I've never heard anyone say his name before."

"Alright then. As I was saying. It's not like he's going to pop up every time someone says _Voldemort_, and start killing everyone in sight." Harry noticed Neville winced when he said the name, but his reaction was nothing like before. He also noticed that Hermione didn't react at all this time. _Guess she's been thing about what I said. _ He thought to himself. _I wonder how long it will take Neville?_

"So, what's it like living with muggles." Neville asked, trying to change the subject.

"Awful." Harry answered. "At least these muggles are. They hate magic and everything to do with it. I only found out I was a wizard on my birthday at the end of July. Up until then I was told my parents were drunks that died in an automobile crash."

Neville looked shocked that anybody would treat Harry Potter of all people like this but whatever he was going to say was cut off by the sound of the cabin door opening. All three looked up to see a middle aged woman standing outside in the hall pushing a trolley cart that was covered in different kinds of pastries and sweets. "Anything from the cart dears?" she asked.

"Nothing for me." Hermione said. "All the money I have is muggle."

"Or me." Neville added. "I only have a few Knuts. Gran doesn't trust me with money. She afraid I'll lose it." Neville said quietly.

Harry got up and looked at the cart. "Tell you what. We'll take the lot." And pulled out a money pouch. "How much does it come to?" He asked the cart lady.

The woman added up the treats and said, "Seven Galleons, five Sickles. But since you're taking it all, I'll let you have it for seven Galleons even."

Harry handed over the money and then gathered up all the stuff he had bought and piled it on the table that was between them. "Thank you very much." He told the woman.

"Oh you're more than welcome dear." The lady replied as she closed the cabin door.

"Ah, Harry. Are you hungry or something?" Hermione asked looking at the pile.

"Starving." Harry answered. I haven't had anything since 7 this morning." But he noticed that his two new friends didn't seem to realize he had bought all this stuff not just for himself but for all three of them. "Well dig in." he said. "I'm hungry, but I can't eat all of this by myself."

"Are you sure?" Neville asked.

"Of course I am. That why I bought this much." He said as he bit into something called a _Pumpkin Pastie. _"Hmmm. This is different. Good, but different."

Neville reached out and took a package with _Chocolate Frog_ written on it and began to unwrap it. Hermione took one called a _Cauldron Cake. _But as Neville got the wrapper off the _frog _leaped up towards the window. Like a flash Harry's arm shot out and caught it in mid leap before it went out the window.

"Wow Harry." Neville said. "I've never seen anyone move that fast. You'd be really good at Quidditch."

"Quidditch, isn't that the thing they play on brooms high in the air." Harry asked.

"Yeah, it's a great sport, but it's dangerous." Neville answered.

"Here's your frog back Neville." Harry said, handing the frog back to him.

"Thanks." Neville told him, biting the head off the frog.

"Neville," Hermione began, "that's not a real frog is it?" afraid of the answer.

"This?" Neville asked, indicating the now headless frog. "No, it completely chocolate. They just put a spell on them that makes them hop once or twice."

"Oh. Well that alright then." But Harry could tell she still wasn't sure about the frogs. "What's the card that's in there Neville?" he asked.

"These? Oh they're Chocolate Frog Cards. Famous Witches and Wizards. People collect them. I have a hundred or so at home." He looked down at the card. "Dumbledore again? I think half the cards in the set are of him. Anybody want it?" he asked the other two.

"I don't." Hermione answered, "you Harry?"

Harry reached out and took the card from Neville and looked down at it. On the front was a picture of a very old looking Wizard with a long beard, and wearing the most ghastly colored robes he had ever seen. Underneath was written _Albus Dumbledore_. "So this is Dumbledore." He said, and turned the card over. On the back was written:

_"Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts._

_Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern_

_times, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for_

_his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945,_

_for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's_

_blood and his work on alchemy with his partner,_

_Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys_

_chamber music and tenpin bowling." (*)_

_Interesting. _Harry thought. _So this is the old bastard who sent me to the Dursleys._ _He looks like a goat!_ And then thinking of the multi colored robes again, added, _a color blind goat at that._ He was going to give the card back to Neville but decided to keep it. _You never know, it might come in handy. _He thought, and slipped the card into his pocket.

Harry was reaching for another pastie when he heard the cabin door open yet again. In the door stoop a boy with red hair. "Any of you lot seen Harry Potter on the train?" he asked.

Hermione looked liked she was going to say something but Harry answered first. "Harry Potter? Why are you looking for him?"

The redhead scowled. "My mum said she wanted me to be his friend or something like that and told me to look for him on the train. Said he didn't have any. So have you seen him?"

"Harry made up his mind in a flash. "Nope. Sorry mate. You might want to try the other end of the train though. He might be there."

"Yeah alright." The boy grumbled. Then he saw the stuff on the table. "Whoah!" He said. 'Where's you get all that stuff?"

"We bought it off the trolley cart." Harry answered. Being careful to say _we_ rather than _I_.

"Can I have something? I only have a corned beef sandwich from home, and I hate corned beef. "

"I suppose so." Harry said getting up and grabbing the first thing within reach from the pile. It was a box marked _Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans,_

and reached out to hand them to him.

"Can't I have something else?" the redhead whined. "I don't like those very much."

_This prat sounds like Dudley. _Harry thought. "Sorry mate, but beggars can't be choosers. If you don't like them, you can buy something yourself. The Cart lady should still be around."

The redhead turned almost as red as his hair. "I don't need your bloody charity" he said, storming out the cabin door, slamming it as he left.

"Well, wasn't he the lovely infected arsehole?" Harry said dryly.

Neville and Hermione started laughing.

oooOOOooo

Across the hall in his hidden cabin, Harry2, who had started listening in on their conversation the moment he saw Ron Weasley, was lying of the floor, holding his stomach and laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face.

_Oh Merlin! This version of me in Hogwarts is going to be like giving an enema to the school. _He thought to himself, _and if my other idea works, the old fart will take a stroke before the end of the year._

oooOOOooo

Back in the other cabin, Hermione, who had managed to compose herself asked, "Harry, why didn't you tell him who you were? He was looking for you after all."

Harry scowled and said. "Hermione didn't you hear him? He was only looking for me because him mum told him to. She said she wanted him to be my friend. Even though he obviously didn't want to. I don't need friends like that. I'd like two or three really good friends. Friends I can trust. Who like me because I'm _me_, not because of that _Boy Who Lived _rubbish, and unless I'm wrong, people like you and Neville." Hermione went a bit pink, while Neville stared at his shoes.

"I'd like that Harry." Hermione finally said quietly.

Harry turned to Neville. "What about you Neville? Can you be friends with Harry, and forget about _The Boy Who Lived?_"

Neville looked at him and said "Yeah, I can do that. If you can put up with someone who can barely think about Vol-Vol-_You Know Who's _name. Never mind actually saying it."

Harry smiled. "And I can do that. But I'm going to keep working on you," then turning to Hermione added, "both of you. By the end of the year you'll both be able to say it. Deal?" Harry asked putting his hand out.

"Deal." Hermione answered, putting her hand on top of Harrys. Both looked to Neville. "Deal." He finally answered, adding his hand to the pile.

"Good. Now all we have to do is make sure we all get sorted into the same house." Harry said laughing again.

oooOOOooo

The rest of their trip went smoothly. The three new friends continued talking, telling jokes and getting to know each other better. Even Draco Malfoy showing up two hours later with his two gorillas didn't spoil their mood. After insulting Hermione by calling her a _mudblood, _ and Neville a squib, whatever that was. He had told Harry that he could show him who the _right kind of people_ were to know at Hogwarts, and offered him his hand. Harry didn't take it, but instead told him that he could figure out who the _right kind of people_ were on him. Thank you very much, and for some reason this seemed vex the blond ponce. "If that's how you feel Potter, we'll just have to change your mind." and told the other two who's names were Crabbe and Goyle to teach him some manners.

As they started advancing on Harry, he jumped up off his seat and kicked Goyle in the stomach. A blow which not only winded him, but pushed him out of their cabin and into the hall. Then turning he caught Crabbe in the mouth with his elbow, dropping him like a sack of potatoes, and by the sound of it, breaking most of his teeth in the process. He turned to Malfoy. "You want to try Malfoy, or would you rather leave on your own while you can?" Draco Malfoy looked at his two bodyguards, who had just been taken out by this skinny kid, and started backing out of the cabin. "And take this idiot with you," Pointing to Crabbe. "he's stinking up our cabin." Harry told him.

It took both Malfoy and Goyle, who had gotten his wind back enough to help, to pull the still unconscious Crabbe out of the cabin.

"Harry," began Hermione, "what was that and where did you learn to fight like that?" she asked.

"It's called Krav Maga. Israeli martial arts."

"Is that something like Kung Fu?"

"Something like it. Only this is designed to take your opponent out as quickly as possible. The teach it to the Israeli Defence Forces. There's none of the fancy spin kicks and arm waving that they have in Kung Fu. Krav Maga is more like a martial arts version of street fighting, and I learned because it was the only way to protect myself from my cousins gang."

Harry knew this last part was a lie, but he couldn't very well tell that this was a skill his older self had passed on to him. No that was definitely not possible, at least for now.

"But you could get into a lot of trouble for fighting. They might expel you." Hermione told him.

"They won't expel me. And besides, do you think Malfoy is going to tell people that one skinny little eleven year old kicked the crap out of his two bodyguards, and then made him back down? Never gonna happen."

"I hope you're right Harry. But promise me you won't get into any more fights." Hermione said almost pleadingly.

Harry though about this for a moment and replied. "I'll tell you what Hermione. I'll promise you that I won't _start_ any fights. Will that be alright?"

"Well it's better than nothing I guess."

"What about you Neville. Do you have a problem with what I did?" Harry asked.

Neville, who had been silent ever since Harry's confrontation with Malfoy and company said. "Harry I've never seen anything like what you did. You never even hesitated." He said in awe. "But no. If you hadn't done what you did they would have hurt you."

"Thank you Neville." And then looking down at his watch and said. "We're nearly at Hogwarts. We better get changed into our school robes. Hermione we'll go out in the hall while you change. Just knock on the door when your ready and Neville and I will switch places with you, okay?"

"Sure Harry."

The two boys got up and went out into the hall, while Hermione closed the drapes inside the cabin. After about five minutes she opened the door and said. "All finished." As she walked out and the boys went in. After a little while they opened the door and Hermione went back in and sat down, all now dressed in their black school robes.

The remainder of their trip, what was left of it went without further interruptions, and soon they heard an announcement telling them that they were pulling into Hogsmead Station and to leave their trunks on the train. They would be taken up to the castle for them.

As the train came to a stop, all the students cued up to exit. There was a bit of confusion in that most of them seemed to want to be the first off the express, but eventually they were all on the platform.

Harry was looking around when he heard a booming voice call out "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" It was Hagrid, But Hermione and Neville stopped dead in their tracks. "Harry, he's huge!" she said.

Harry chuckled. "Don't worry guys. That's Hagrid. He's the one who took me to Diagon Alley. He works at Hogwarts. Come on, lets go see our new home for the next ten months."

The three new friends started off towards Hagrid, but Harry2 held back. He had followed them off the train after undoing his spells on his cabin, and now silently watched as Hagrid guided them into the boats for their first trip up to the school. Silently he apparated to the school gates and waited for the first coach to appear. While he waited, he looked up at the school, the only place he had ever considered home and said quietly "Hello Hogwarts. I'm back."

_(*) Quote from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, page77. UK Edition._


	9. Chapter 9 Welcome Home Harry

A/N: Thanks to all who sent in reviews and comments. Please keep em coming.

Chapter 8: Welcome Home Harry

Harry2 was still staring up at the ancient castle when he heard the first school coach approaching. He stepped back and let it pass, then with a quick short run, stepped on the back. The coaches were basically 18th century muggle coaches, and they still had the original runners on them. So he was able to easily hop on one of the back runners, and hold onto the top. Why walk when you can ride?

But the ride up to the school was a bumpy one, for Harry2 if not for the occupants of the carriage, and by the time it was over, he felt like his arm was going to fall off. But, in the end he made it and followed in behind the first group of returning students. He found a quiet corner of the Great Hall, slightly behind a suite or Armor, and away from everyone else, and after conjuring a small bench to sit down on, he waited for the first year sorting ceremony to begin.

ooo000ooo

While Harry2 was waiting quietly in the Great Hall, his younger self had just gotten out of a small boat at the Hogwarts dock. On the trip over, he had looked for the giant Squid that Harry2 had told him lived in the lake, but except for a dark blur in the distance, which may have been the squid, or a log floating in the lake, he hadn't seen anything. Besides, he had too transfixed buy the enormous castle he was getting closer to.

He put his hand out to Hermione as she started to get out, and with a grateful look, she took it, and climbed out. "Thank you Harry. I don't really like boats all that much."

"I guessed as much," He replied, "by the was you were holding onto the railing. Your knuckles were almost white."

Hermione blushed slightly. "I fell out of a boat when I was four. I was wearing a life vest, but I would have drowned if I hadn't been wearing it. I didn't know how to swim yet."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I would have drown if I had fallen out tonight, because I never learned to swim at all. My relatives never took me for lessons."

Hermione shook her head at this. _How could anyone treat a child like that._ She thought. But decided that this might be a better topic for later.

Harry saw that Neville had managed to get out of the little boat by himself, despite holding on to his frog Trevor with one hand. He almost slipped, but caught himself at the last moment and climbed up onto the dock.

By this time all the other first years had made it out of the boats safely and were gathered around Hagrid, so they went over to join them.

"Right, everyone here? Good. This way then." and he led them all over to a large black door in the side of the castle, which opened just as they arrived.

In the doorway was a very stern looking witch, who appeared to be dressed entirely in black, but which he would later see when he got into the castle was actually dark blue. "The Firs'-years Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said to her.

"Thank you Hagrid, " and then addressing the new students said. "Follow me please." and led them into a high ceilinged, torch lit entrance hall. She continued across the hall till she got to a closed door, where she turned to address them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking," At this she gave them a frown, "will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." (*)

"Please wait here and I will be back when they are ready for you." She then turned and left by a side door.

"I wonder how they sort you?" Hermione asked Harry. She seemed nervous.

"No idea. Maybe some sort of test?"

"A test?" Hermione practically squeaked. "How can they give us a test…they haven't even told us what to study…do you think it's about magic?...how may spells you know?...or how much you read ahead in your school books?" She paused for a fraction of a second, just long enough to gulp in a breath of air. "Maybe…"

"Hermione, relax." Harry said with a touch of amusement. "I'm sure that whatever it is, you'll be able to do it. After all, they know we're just starting school and that we know next to nothing about magic. It'll be okay." Then in an attempt to distract her said, "Oh look, ghosts."

Hermione turned to look, and sure enough there were four ghosts gliding through the hall. They seemed to be arguing about something, but all she caught was the name "Peeves" and something about "giving him all chances he deserves."

They paused for a moment as they passed the students, and one of them said "First-years" in a knowing sort of way. They then continued on their way, and with their discussion.

"Okay, that was different." Hermione said. "Do you think there are any more like them?" she asked Harry and Neville.

Neville didn't say anything, but Harry said "Don't know, but probably. This is a strange world."

As he said this, he heard a door open, and saw that Professor McGonagall had returned.

"Please form a line and follow me." She said.

She opened two large doors and led the new students into an absolutely massive hall.

The description of the Great Hall that his older self had given him didn't do the place justice. There were four long tables in the center, that ran the entire length of the hall, and seated at them were hundreds of students, all of them staring at the new comers. He also saw that there was another long table up at the front, which was raised up on a platform, and facing the other four. At it sat what Harry assumed were all the Professors, and in the middle, seated in a golden throne like chair, sat…Dumbledore. He couldn't be missed. No matter how much you tried. While all the other Professors were dressed in normal looking robes, Dumbledore was wearing garish looking robes of purple and yellow, topped with a blue hat that had stars on it. _He looks like he's holding court! _Harry thought.

They were led to the front of the hall where, they saw a small stool with a pointed wizards hat on it. The hat was patched and frayed, and looked liked it hadn't been washed in 500 years.

Harry was wondering what this old hat had to do with the sorting, when he saw it move. A large rip opened near the bottom of it. A rip that looked like a mouth, and the hat started to sing.

A/N: I don't like author notes in the middle of a story, but I make an exception in this case. You all know the sorting hat song, so I'm not going to reprint it here.

After the hat finished it's song, and a round of applause rang out from the students and staff, Professor McGonagall stepped up to the old hat and said. "When I call your name, come up here and sit on the stool. I'll place the sorting hat on your head so you can be sorted." Then unfurling a scroll she said. "Abbot, Hannah

A blond haired girl moved out of the line and up to the stool where she sat down. McGonagall placed the hat on her head, and after a few moments the hat shouted out "HUFFLEPUFF!"

And so it went, new student after new student, till McGonagall called out "Granger, Hermione."

Hermione gulped, but started walking towards the stool. She barely heard a "Good luck." From Harry.

Hermione say down and the hat was placed on her head. Almost immedietly she heard a voice in her head. "_Hmmmm. Another Muggleborn I see. Good mind, incredible in fact. Hmmmm, also plenty of courage I see. I see you haven't had an easy time of it in school have you Miss Granger?" _the hat asked.

"Can you hear me?" Hermione asked.

"_Oh yes, and you don't have to speak out loud my dear. Simply think what you want to say."_

_"Alright, and yes, I did have a hard time in school. The other kids didn't like me because they thought I was too smart."_

_"And yet, when you could have chosen the easy path and pretended to be dumber than you are, and fit in much better, you chose the hard path. Interesting. But where to put you? That's the question. I see you've read about the houses, so where do you think you belong?"_

_"I thought you were supposed to decide what house I belong in." _Hermione thought to the hat.

_"Oh I am, and I will, but I'm curious where you think you should go."_

_"Well, not Slytherin, that's for certain. From what I've read, they'd never accept a Muggleborn in their house. Not Hufflepuff either. Not because there's anything wrong with them. It's just because they're supposed to big on loyalty, and I have almost no experience with it. So that leaves Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Either of those would be good, but I want to be in the same house as my friend Harry, and he hasn't been sorted yet. So I don't know what to tell you."_

_"Harry?" _the hat asked, _"Let's see here. Oh my. Harry Potter indeed. I thought I heard that he was supposed to be coming here this year. So you made friends with him on the train did you. Very good. He seems like a good match for you from what I see. Hmmmmm. A Very good match in fact. He seems to like all the same things you do as well. It'll be interesting to see if he's anything like his father."_

_"You sorted his father too?" _Hermone asked.

_"Oh yes my dear. I was Godric's hat, and I've been sorting students here for nearly 900 years. And you I think belong in "_RAVENCLAW!"

ooo000ooo

Over in his corner, Harry2 blinked. _Ravenclaw? Now THAT was unexpected. It must be because she and Harry became friends on the train. I just hope he_

_goes there as well. It'll keep them together, and at the same time keep him away from the weasel. Also It'll help Luna when she comes here next year. _

ooo000ooo

After Hermione went to her new house, the sorting continued, and soon Neville found himself perched up on the little stool. The hat seemed to be taking a long time to sort Neville, but finally the hat shouted out:

"GRYFFINDOR!" and Neville, looking somewhat relieved, took the hat off and went over to sit down at the Gryffindor table. But not before looking over at Hermione, almost as if to say "_Sorry we wont be together._"

Harry saw that Draco Malfoy got sorted into Slytherin the instant the hat touched his head. Almost as if the hat didn't want to be in contact with him any longer than it had to.

Finally after another fifteen minutes, Professor McGonagall called out, "Potter, Harry."

The whispering that had been going on during the sorting fell to dead silence, and everyone watched as Harry stepped out of the line and made his way towards the stool. He sat down and felt the old hat being placed on his head. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then he heard a voice in his head. "_Mr. Potter. You'll have to lower your Occlumency shields for me to sort you."_

From watching the other new students being sorted, and watching their movements, Harry guessed that the hat had been talking to them in their mind, so he wasn't too surprised to hear it in his head now."

"_I can't do that, I'm sorry. I have too many secrets that have to be kept."_ He told the old hat.

"_If it makes you feel any better Mr. Potter, I'm not allowed to tell anyone the things I see in students minds. I was only given this ability so that I can tell where to put them. I can't even tell the Headmaster what I see."_

_"You can't?"_

_"No Mr. Potter, I can not. Now please, could you drop the shields so I can sort you? I don't even know how an eleven year old could have shields that could block me out, or why he would even need them in the first place. What could you possibly be…..OH MY!."_

During the hats mini rant Harry had been thinking about the sorting hat and about his older self. Older Harry had been the Headmaster. He must have known about the hat, and yet he didn't say anything. Did that mean is was okay to drop his shields this one time to let the hat into his head? _I hope this is the right decision._ He thought, and dropped his shields.

_"Now this is something I've never seen before." _The hat said. _"I stand corrected Mr. Potter. You do have things to keep secret. Indeed you do. Two Harry Potters…..your knowledge of the future…. extra training…..not to mention the fact that if the Ministry finds out you life will be forfeit. But don't worry. As I told you before, your secrets are safe with me. Now lets see where you belong shall we?"_

Harry sighed in relief. He'd made the right decision.

_"Lets see now. Courage in droves. But also high intelligence. You want to prove yourself. But where do I put you? Where would you fit in best? Slytherin would help you you know. You're going to be great someday Mr. Potter, and they'd help you develop the cunning you'll need later in life."_

_"NO!" _Harry nearly screamed out loud, _"I want to go into the same house as my friend Hermione. You've already put her Ravenclaw, and I don't want to be separated from her. She's the only person I know in this world."_

_"Are you sure? Slytherin would help you be great. They would…"_

_"Ravenclaw!"_

_"Oh fine. But don't come crying to me if it doesn't work out. Oh, and tell your older self I want to speak to him at some point. I'm sure he'll be able to figure out a way to get into the Heads office undetected."_

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted out.

"Thank you." Said Harry, as he took the hat off and walked over to the Ravenclaw table, raising his shields again to full power. If what his older self told him turned out to be true, they'd be tested before the night was out.

ooo000ooo

Harry went and say down next to Hermione at the Ravenclaw table. "You made it." She said.

"Yeah, finally. Bloody hat wanted to put me in Slytherin."

"Harry, language," Hermione said reproachfully. "and why would the hat want to put you in Slytherin?"

"I don't know. All it said was that Slytherin would help me be great. But I don't want to be _great. _I just…I just want to be Harry." He said softly, not looking at his friend.

ooo000ooo

Up at the heads table, Albus Dumbledore watched as Harry Potter was sorted into Ravenclaw. _That was a bit unexpected. _He thought. _I would have preferred Gryffindor, then the Weasleys could have helped guide him. But at least he wasn't put into Hufflepuff or Slytherin. No, that wouldn't have done at all. But I wonder why not Gryffindor? All the potters have been sorted there, including his mother Lilly._

He decided that he would try to get more information about the boy from the sorting hat after the feast.

ooo000ooo

Sitting at the far end of the table, Severus Snape also watched closely as Harry Potter was sorted. He had spotted the boy the instant he came in the door. How could he not? He was the spitting image of his father, James Potter. _Right down to the goddamn glasses!_ Snape thought to himself. _And how did he get into Ravenclaw of all places? Every Potter that's come here for the last 300 years has been in Gryffindor. _He continued to ponder this question when a thought occurred to him. _Maybe it was Lilly's intelligence was the deciding factor? Maybe she passed that on to him? I have to find out._ He thought.

Snape stared at Harry, and reached out with his active Legilimency, having long ago mastered the spell non verbally. His first indication that there was something wrong was the blinding pain in his head. The second was feeling himself falling out of his chair and hitting the floor.

ooo000ooo

Harry didn't notice Snape fall to the floor, because he was currently watching the rude redhead they had met on the train being sorted. He seemed to be arguing with the hat. Finally though his shoulders sagged as the hat shouted out "GRYFFINDOR!"

He saw the redhead, who's name apparently was Ron Weasley, glance over at the Ravenclaw table at him, before starting off alone to the Gryffindor table. _I wonder if he was trying to get the hat to put him in Ravenclaw because that's where I am?_ Harry thought. _After all, he did say on the train that he was told by his mother to try and find me and become my friend. _

Harry thought about this, and Ron Weasley a while longer before dismissing it, and him.

"Harry look. One of the Professors fell out of his chair." He heard Hermione say.

Harry looked up in time to see Dumbledore leaning over someone who was partly obscured by the table. After a few moments the man got up, holding his head, and Harry saw that he was the Professor his older self had warned him about. Snape. _He must have tried to look into my mind. _He thought to himself, and then had to suppress a smile. _Looks like Harry was spot on about what those shields would do to someone trying to breach them. Wonder if he'll be stupid enough to try again?_

ooo000ooo

Meanwhile, in his corner, Harry2 wasn't even trying to hide the smile on his face. He didn't have to because nobody could see him, and except for Harry, nobody knew he was there. Well…that wasn't exactly true. Hogwarts knew he was there. He hadn't been exactly sure what would happen when he crossed the schools wards, but he knew that despite the advanced cloaking spell he had used, the school had detected him the instant he passed through the main gate.

He had known of course that the school was sentient. Had been for hundreds of years, and when he was Headmaster she had even talked to him. But he wasn't Headmaster now. Dumbledore was.

After a few moments he asked. _"Will you tell him?"_

Silence.

_"Hogwarts please. I know you can hear me, and I need to know. If not for me then for Harry. Will you tell Dumbledore?"_

_"Why are you here?" _he finally heard in his head.

_"It would take too long to explain. Take it directly from my mind. I'll drop my shields. It's the only way for you to know for sure that I mean no harm to the school or her students."_

Harry2 dropped his shields and immediately felt the powerful presence of the school enter into his mind. He saw it scan through his memories starting from his earliest memories of living on Privet Drive, till just a few days ago, when he had memory charmed Teddy. A hundred and sixty two years in less than 30 seconds. Then nothing.

_"Well?" _Harry asked the school. Almost afraid of the answer.

Silence.

Finally though, after what seemed like an eternity to Harry2, he heard Hogwarts say softly in his mind _"You risked much by doing this Mr. Potter. Not only your life, but the future of this world."_

More silence.

Then, _"I will keep your secret."_

_"Thank you My Lady."_

Harry2 had been thinking of this conversation when he saw Snape clutch both sides of his head, and fall from his chair.

ooo000ooo

"I wonder what happed to him?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head, a look pure innocence on his face. "No idea. I hope he's alright though. If I'm right, that's Professor Severus Snape, the Potions teacher, and I'm _really _looking forward to his class."

"How do you know that? Have you met him before?" Hermione asked him.

"We've never met, but I got a box with some of my mothers things from when she was here at Hogwarts, and in one of her books was a picture of her and another student. They both looked about fifteen years old, but I'm sure it's the same person." He told her.

This wasn't _exactly_ a lie_. _The box with the books and many of his mothers other school things, including her journal really did exist. They were in the Potter Family vault, and older Harry had told him about them and described Snape to him. He just didn't mention this.

"The only Professor I've met before is Professor Quirrell. We met briefly at the Leaky Cauldron when Hagrid brought me through to Diagon Alley to get my school things. He's the one wearing the turban."

Hermione glanced up at the heads table and looked at Quirrell. "What does he teach?

"Defense Against the Dark Arts." Harry replied, glancing up at Quirrell, and as he did so, it happened. A sharp pain crossed his forehead, right across his scar.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed, rubbing his head.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"N-nothing." Harry said. The pain only lasted for an instant, and then was gone. But the feeling Harry got from Quirrell was harder to shake. Something was _off _ about him. He's have to remember to mention it to older Harry later, and see if he knew anything about it.

He looked again at the heads table and saw that Dumbledore was standing up at the podium. "Welcome!' he said. Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we start the opening banquet, I would like to say a few words. And they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

He then went back to his chair and say down amid the applause of most of the students.

"Okay, that was seriously weird." Harry said slowly. "I wonder if he's okay, you know, in the head?" he asked Hermione.

Hermione was going to reply, but her comments were cut off by the appearance of massive amounts of food that suddenly appeared on the serving plates at their table. "Wow!" was all she could say.

There was roast beef, roast chicken, pork, and lamb chops, sausages, bacon wrapped steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, French fried potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, sprouts, broccoli, gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs. _They must be there as an after dinner mint. _Harry thought.

He and Hermione, as well as everyone else, started piling food on their plates.

The food was delicious, and Harry had a bit of everything, even the sprouts, and by the time he finished his second plate, he couldn't eat any more. He didn't ever have any desert when it appeared. So he just say and quietly talked to Hermione, till at last the desert plates disappeared as well.

Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again and went back up to the podium, and the hall fell silent.

"Ahem – just a few more start of term notices to pass on to you. First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Harry saw that Dumbledore seemed to be looking at the Gryffindor table as he said this.

"I have also been asked yet again by Mr. Filch, our caretaker, to remind you all that the use of magic in the corridors between classes is forbidden.

Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch and their Team Captain.

And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds until further notice to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Harry frowned at this. "This is a school for kids. There shouldn't be anything that can cause a _very painful death_ anywhere near it." He said to Hermione. "What he going on about? That's only going to make people more curious about it."

Hermione shrugged. "Who knows? She asked. "But just to be safe. Don't go anywhere near it."

"Don't worry, I don't intend to." He told her.

"And now, before we go to our beds," Dumbledore continued, "let us sing the school song!"

Most of the students, and one or two of the staff started to sing a rather silly song about Hogwarts, but neither Harry or Hermione, as Harry noticed, joined in.

When they were finished Dumbledore said "Ah, music, a magic beyond everything else! And now, bedtime. Off you go!"

There was a loud commotion, as nearly all the students got up at the same time and started off to their dorms. A blond haired Ravenclaw prefect, who introduced herself as Penelope Clearwater, led Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the first years to Ravenclaw Tower. Along the way she warned everyone about Peeves. "He a poltergeist, and he's a menace to everyone!" she told them. "The only person who can keep him in line is the Headmaster. Although the Bloody Baron, who's the ghost of Slytherin, seems to terrify him as well. Here we are." She said stopping in front of a large door. There was no doorknob or keyhole, just a bronze knocker shaped like an eagle.

Addressing the first years she said, "All the other houses have passwords to get into their dorms. All except ours. To be in Ravenclaw however, you have to be able to _think." _She reached for the knocker, and knocked once. Almost immediately the eagles beak opened, but instead of a screech, a soft voice asked _"What is the one thing you will always find in a deep hole?"_

"Darkness." Penelope replied.

_"Correct."_ The voice replied, and the door swung open.

"Excuse me Miss Clearwater, what happenes if you don't know the answer, or get it wrong?" Hermione asked.

"If that happens," she replied, "you either have to wait till someone comes out, or comes along and gives the correct answer. You only get one chance, but there's no limit to how long you can think about it. Also, you don't have to call me Miss. We all address each other by our first names."

"Sorry." She said a bit sheepishly.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Penelope replied kindly. "That's how you learn." And then led them into the tower.

Unseen and unknown to everyone, Harry2 slipped in behind the last of the students. He knew that in the tower it would be harder for him to remain undetected, so on the way there, he cast a mild avoidance charm on himself so nobody would accidentally walk into him.

Penelope led them first into a large, circular room with large arched windows that held a magnificent view of the mountains, (or would if it wasn't dark outside) surrounding the castle. They were draped in blue and bronze silk. The high vaulted ceiling was painted with stars which twinkled when you looked at them. Harry wondered if it was the same as the ceiling in the Great Hall, in that in reflected the outside sky.

"Now this is the Ravenclaw Common Room." She said to the group. "All students can gather here at any time to socialize, study, do their homework, etc. We also our own private library, as you can see from the many bookcases spread out around the room. But unlike the main Hogwarts library, none of these as classified as _restricted,_ so anybody can read them. But a charm prevents you from taking them out of the tower. They were willed to Ravenclaw House by a former student hundreds of years ago."

Hermione looked like she was about to cry at the sight of all the books.

There were desks and chairs in various places around the common room, as well as a huge fireplace. So big in fact that Harry could have walked into it without having to duck his head.

But the real centerpiece of the entire room was a large marble statue. So white, it could almost be described as _"virgin white"_ Harry recognized it as Rowena Ravenclaw, the founder of their house, from a picture he had seen in _Hogwarts: A History._ The statue seemed to be looking at them with a quizzical

half-smile on her face. She was extremely beautiful, but at the same time, more than slightly intimidating. He also saw that she seemed to be wearing some sort of tiara on her head. At the base of the statue was carved: _"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."_

Across the room, Harry2 was also looking at the statue, and remembering the first time he had seen it with Luna, all those years ago. Just before everything went to hell.

"The boys dormitories are to the right," Penelope told them pointing to a staircase, "and the girls are to the left. Also, I should warn you that boys are not permitted in the girls dormitories, or even on the stairs leading to them. If you try…well lets just say that everyone in the tower will know." She said with a smile.

"What will happen?" Harry asked.

"Go and step on the first stair and see." She told him. The smile still on her face.

Harry didn't move. He wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

"Penelope laughed. "Oh don't worry, you won't be cursed or anything, and it's better that everyone know. That way they won't be able to claim innocence if they're caught trying."

Harry walked slowly to the stairs leading up to the girls rooms, and after pausing for a moment, tentatively put one foot on the first stair.

As soon as his foot touched the stair, a loud claxon started sounding throughout the tower.

"As you can see, or in this case _hear, _everyone will know if boys try to get up to the girls rooms.

Suddenly everyone saw a small man come running into the tower. "Miss Clearwater, what's happened? Why is the tower alarm sounding?"

"I'm sorry Professor Flitwick. I was just showing the new students what happens if a boy tries to get up to the girls section of the tower. There's been no breach."

The little man sighed, and said out loud, "Filius Flitwick, Ravenclaw Head of House. Disarm!"

The claxon stopped.

"Next time Miss Clearwater, please warn me if you're going to do something like that." He said to Penelope.

"I hadn't planned on it Sir, but one of the new students asked what would happen, and I thought a practical demonstration would be far better than words." She said to him respectfully.

"Don't worry Miss Clearwater, no harm done. And you're right of course. Are you planning anything else I should know about _beforehand_?" he asked her.

"No Sir. After this I was going to send them all up to their rooms for the night." She answered.

"Very well." And then addressing the first years. Welcome to Ravenclaw. I am Professor Flitwick, your Head of House, and the Charms Professor. This isn't how I intended to introduce myself to you." He said, glancing at Penelope with a smile. "But what's done is done. I hope everyone has a good night, and I'll see you all at breakfast in the Great Hall in the morning. Goodnight." He then left the common room at a much more leisurely pace than he had entered.

"Ah," Harry began after the Professor had left, "you're not in any trouble are you Penelope? Because of me I mean."

Penelope chuckled. "Oh no. Professor Flitwick is a very kind man. He just doesn't like being surprised like that. So that about all for the introduction. If you have any other questions, you can ask any of the prefects, and they'll help you out. Until then, everybody head up to your rooms, and I'll see you all in the morning."

The students started off up the stairs to their rooms. Harry and Hermione lagged behind to say goodnight to each other.

"Have a good night Hermione. I'll see you in the morning." He said to her.

"Goodnight Harry. Thank you for coming in and asking if you could sit in my car on the train. It meant a lot to me." And then even before she realized she was going to do it, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Then proceeded to turn bright red. A shade only matched by Harry's. She then turned and fled up the stairs.

Harry2, who had been watching all this smiled. Harry was still standing there looking like a duck that had been hit on the head with a paddle. Completely gobsmacked! _Merlin!_ He thought. _Was I ever that young? This is working out better than I had hoped. Hermione never would have done anything like that before. Now if the two of them can get Neville to come out of his shell…well that's a project for later._ He then said in his head, "_Hogwarts, can you hear me?"_

_"I can. What do you wish Mr. Potter?"_

_"I have an owl to send out, and something to do before morning. If I leave the Common Room, will I be able to get back in without knocking on the door? Professor Flitwick's room is right near the entrance, and I don't want the sound to wake him when I come back in later."_

For a few moments there was no answer, as if the castle were thinking it over, then she replied, _"I will allow you entry without the question. Simply, place your hand on the door and say 'Access' and it will open. But please don't tell your younger self this. He has to learn."_

_"I wont." _Harry told the castle. _'And thank you."_

He looked around and saw that Harry had gotten over his _first kiss _and gone up to bed. _Well, _he thought. _At least he should have some interesting dreams._ Then turning, he walked to the Tower door and left, softly humming the Hogwarts School song.

(*)_ Quote from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, page 85-86. UK Edition_


	10. Chapter 10 A Snapish Start to the Year

A/N: Thanks everyone for your reviews and comments.

Chapter 9: A Snapeish Start to the Year

Harry2 made his way up to the Owlery, and after finding Hedwig, he sent her off to Gringotts with a letter for Ragnok. Then after watching as she disappeared from sight, he made his way to Gryffindor tower. He had a job to do before morning.

As he approached the Fat Lady, he tried to remember the password that Percy had used when he had originally been sorted there. It took him a few minutes, but finally it came to him. "_Caput Draconis!" _he said to her, and she opened silently. He quickly looked around to see if there was anybody down in the common room. Fortunately there wasn't, and he quickly, and silently, made his way up to the third year dorms.

Even though it was 2 in the morning, he could hear talking coming from within Fred and George Weasleys dorm room. Quickly he opened the door, and before anyone even really registered that someone had come into the room, Harry2 had wandlessly stunned everyone in the room.

"Sorry guys." He said quietly. "But I can't take the chance of you seeing two Harry Potters on the Marauders Map."

It only took him a few minutes to find the map. It was in George's trunk. He knew he should leave a copy of the map there with the twins, but first he had to modify it slightly. He would need his wand for this one because he wasn't only copying the map itself, but all the enchantments it contained, and that was too much to do wandlessly, even for him. He made the copy first, and put the original into his robes. This would go to Harry. It was after all a Potter family heirloom. Then waving his wand over the copy he said _"Obliviate Harry Potter."_

Harry2 knew this wasn't a perfect solution, but better for him to be invisible to the map, than for it to show two of them. He put the MMM (the Modified Marauders Map) back in Georges trunk exactly where he's found it, and after modifying everyone memories slightly to make them forget about him coming into their room and stunning them, he moved them all into bed and turned out the lights. _When they wake up_, _they'll all think they just went to sleep. _ He thought to himself .

Then quietly, he let himself out of the room and left the tower. Hopefully he'd only have to come back here one more time.

Harry2 managed to get back to Ravenclaw tower just after 3 am. without incident and into his trunk for the night so he could get some sleep. It would be an interesting first day tomorrow.

ooo000ooo

Gringotts.

As Ragnok read Harry2's letter, he was smiling to himself. Normally this was something a human didn't want to see because it usually meant you were about to lose your head, literally. When Harry2 letter had come yesterday outlining his updated plan to join Hogwarts as a student, Ragnok was pleased. It was a better idea than older Harry hiding out in his trunk for the next 7 years. Now all he had to do was convince Griphook to go along with it.

He looked up when he heard the knock on his office door. "Enter!" he called out.

The door opened and Griphook came in and waited politely in front of his desk.

"Griphook, I have a request to make of you, if you're willing."

Griphook was surprised. A request? The Director never made requests. He gave orders. "Anything you wish Director."

"Don't say that till _after _I've told you what it is. This is far above your obligations to the bank or our people." Ragnok replied.

"Who do you want me to kill Director?" he asked

Ragnok gave him a toothy smile. "It's not that bad, but it will be distasteful. This is what I'd like you to do…"

As he listened, Griphook grew more and more disgusted. Putting up with and serving humans was bad enough, but to make himself _look_ like one was worse. The only good part was that the only Goblin in the bank that would know would be the Director.

In the end it was the bonus that got him to agree. 5000 Galleons every time he was required to "be human" was a powerful incentive.

"Since you've agreed, put this letter in the outgoing post." He told Griphook, handing him a letter. Griphook looked at it. It was addressed to Headmaster Dumbledore at Hogwarts.

"It will be done Director. Do you require anything more of me at the moment?"

"No that will be all Griphook." and then added. "Thank you for agreeing to do this."

Griphook simple nodded his head, and then left the office.

ooo000ooo

The next morning Harry was finishing his breakfast when Professor Flitwick arrived at the Ravenclaw table with their class schedules. He looked down and started to read his.

Potter, Harry James

Ravenclaw.

Monday

09:00-11:30 - Charms - Flitwick

11:30-13:00 - Lunch

13:00-14:00 - Herbology - Sprout

14:30-15:30 - History of Magic - Binns

Tuesday

09:00-11:30 - Transfiguration - McGonagall

11:30-13:00 - Lunch

13:00-14:00 - Beginning Flying - Hooch

14:30-15:30 - Defence Against the Dark Arts - Quirrell

Wednesday

09:00-11:30 - Potions - Snape

11:30-13:00 - Lunch

13:00-15:00 - Herbology - Sprout

23:30-01:00 - Astronomy - Sinistra

Thursday

09:00-11:30 - MORNING FREE DUE TO BEING UP LATE

11:30-13:00 - Lunch

13:00-14:00 - Transfiguration - McGonagall

14:30-15:30 - Beginning Flying - Hooch

Friday

09:00-11:30 - Defence Against the Dark Arts - Quirrell

11:30-13:00 - Lunch

13:00-14:00 - Herbology - Sprout

14:30-15:30 - Charms - Flitwick

As it was Thursday, he looked down to see what classes he had "Oh good." He said to himself. "No class this morning. That means Hermione and I can learn more about the castle and where everything is."

Harry set off to find his new friend, something that didn't take too long as she was down at the end of the Ravenclaw table, and after talking for a few moments, they set off. First stop, the library.

ooo000ooo

Severus Snape was in a rather foul mood, even for him. The reason was that he hadn't slept at all the night before because of a blinding headache he had. A headache that, although it had eased somewhat, he still had. Currently he was in the headmasters office, doing what he does best, ranting.

"I'm telling you Headmaster, Potter knows Occlumency. I tried to see what it was that got him into Ravenclaw last night. I figured it must be his mothers talent, because it certainly wasn't anything he got from his idiot father!"

"Severus, as I told you before term started, you must put your feelings for James Potter aside. Harry is not his father. In fact, I'm sure he doesn't even remember his father. In fact…"

"HE ATTACKED A MENBER OFF THE STAFF!" Snape practically shouted. "What, did you think I fell out of my chair last night because I was curious about the floor and wanted to get a closer look?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Severus, even if you were right about young Harry knowing Occlumency, putting aside that fact that he's been raised by his muggle relatives, and couldn't have learned it, you were the one that used Legilimency on him. Something I only permit you do use in order to prevent trouble in the school, and then ONLY in it's passive form."

Snape started to speak again, but was cut off by Dumbledore.

"Furthermore. Even if Mr. Potter _does _know Occlumency, which I seriously doubt, he would have been perfectly within his rights to defend himself from your mental probe because from what you just told me, you did more than a surface scan of his thoughts. You tried to enter his mind to poke around. Something which you know is illegal."

Snape didn't say anything. He knew there was nothing he could say. He had admitted to Dumbledore that he tried to enter the brats head, even though it was not allowed.

After a few minutes of silence Dumbledore said "Severus, this is what I'll do. I'll ask Mr. Potter to come up to my office so I can introduce myself. No doubt he'll be extremely nervous. If he did have anything to do with last nights accident…"

"Accident?" Snape asked. "That was no accident. My mental probe was grabbed and flung back at me in such a way at to create a feedback loop. I ended up with a headache the likes of which I've never experienced with Legilimency."

"Exactly my point Severus. Whoever or whatever did that, it couldn't have been an untrained first year. Only a Master Occlumens could have done something like that."

Snape didn't look convinced.

"Severus, let me put it another way. It took _me_ nearly ten years of studying Occlumency before I was capable of repelling a Legilimency attack in that manner. So do you really mean to tell me that an eleven year old could do it?"

Snape didn't answer. Finally though, he asked. "So if it wasn't Potter, then who could have done this to me?"

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, his hands and fingers together. "There is one possibility. One _slight_ possibility Severus, which I will check out when I see Mr. Potter here later this morning."

"What do you mean one _slight_ possibility? Surely you can't be suggesting that Potter is a natural Occlumens?" Snape asked incredulously. There hasn't been a natural Occlumens in Hogwarts in over 200 years."

"Never the less. I find that possibility far more likely then your assertion that Mr. Potter repelled your attack consciously." Said Dumbledore. "And further more, if I ever find out you've used active Legilimency on a student again, you'll find yourself looking for another job. Do I make myself clear Severus?"

"Crystal." Snape replied acidly.

"Good. I'm glad we could clear that up. I will let you know what, if anything I discover and….oh look at the time." Dumbledore said pleasantly as he glanced up at the clock on the wall of his office. "It's almost nine o'clock. You better get down to your lab Severus. It wouldn't do to have a Professor late for his own class on the first day of school"

Snape turned, his robes billowing out around him and strode out of the Heads office without another word. No sooner had Snape left the office, when Dumbledore heard a rather indignant "SQUAWK!" come from the other side of the room.

Dumbledore sighed. "I know Fawkes, I know. " He said to a rather large bird that was sitting on a perch there. "But he can change. I know he can. He just needs more time to see the errors of his ways."

Fawkes, who a was a Phoenix, gave another loud "SQUAWK" as if to say "Fat chance old man!" and then fell silent.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly and then turned his attention to his morning mail. _Lets see what's here._ He thought to himself. _Wizengamot_… _Ministry…Wizengamot…Wizengamot…Minister of Magic's Office…What does that fool want now? Ministry, Board of Governors...Gringotts? Why would they be writing to me?. Hmmm._ Dumbledore opened the letter and started to read.

_September 1, 1991_

_To Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_Dear Sir._

_My Name is Charles Padfoot, and I work for Gringotts Banks International as a security consultant, and am based in New York City. I have recently been assigned to Gringotts London to upgrade their security, and that of Gringotts branches throughout Europe, to the standards that are now being used in North America. _

_My reason for writing is that I am a single parent, whose son has just turned eleven and who will be starting school. As this job will take some years to complete, and I don't want to leave him in New York, he is coming along with me on this move. Gringotts has told me that school in Britain starts on September 1__st__, but my son will not arrive in London until the 8__th__ of the month. He is currently staying with my sister in New York till I have our new home set up here. _

_Would be possible for my son James to be enrolled, but to start 1 week late? I can assure you he is an extremely bright boy and will easily be able to make up whatever work he will miss._

_I can be reached by owl simply by addressing the letter to me in care of Gringotts London. They will make sure I get your response._

_With my thanks,_

_Charles Padfoot_

_Security Consultant,_

_Gringotts Banks International._

Dumbledore put the letter aside and made a note to send one back to Gringotts saying that the boy could enroll and start a week late, and another to give the information to Minerva so she could send out his _official _ letter of acceptance along with the list or required items for first year students. Then with yet another sigh, he opened the letter from Minister Fudge. Sometimes being Albus Dumbledore could be a real pain.

A/N2: Sorry this chapter took longer than usual to post, but I ran into a wall that I couldn't get over, and still haven't completely, which is also why it's so short. Hopefully this problem will be taken care of by the time the next chapter rolls around.


	11. Chapter 11 First Classes

A/N:Thanks everyone for your comments and reviews

Chapter 10 – First Classes

Harry and Hermione ended up spending nearly their entire free morning in the Hogwarts Library. Hermione, who had been to the Central Library in London, (and didn't want to leave) was struck completely dumb at the first sight of if. There had to be nearly a million book in this place! But what impressed her even more was that when she started looking through some of the older ones, she saw that they had obviously been hand written and bound.

Harry noticed this as well and he asked her why she thought wizards wouldn't have just had them printed like their textbooks obviously were. They got their answer when she looked in the front of the book. There under the title "101 INDESPENSIBLE HOUSEHOLD CHARMS" was the date it was written. 1653!

"Harry, this book is over 300 years old!" she said to him. "and it looks like it could have been written yesterday."

"There must be spelled or something so they wont wear out." Harry replied after thinking about it for a while. "I guess that's why the extra books we got were so expensive. They never wear out, so people don't replace them."

The two friends continued to look through the library, each making mental notes which books they wanted to take a closer look at later, and before they knew it, it was lunch time.

ooo000ooo

Their first class after lunch was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, but when they entered her classroom just before class started, they saw the Professor was nowhere to be seen. It was Hermione though who spotted the tabby cat sitting on the teachers desk. Though to be fair, this wasn't much of an accomplishment as the cat was sitting bold upright in the center of the desk, peering out rather imperiously at the students as they entered the room.

Both had decided to take seats near the front of the class, so they were able to get a very good look at the cat as it say there. "I wonder who the cat belongs to Harry? The Professor?"

Harry eyed the cat suspiciously, and strangely enough the cat turned it's head and stared at him. "I don't think that's a cat Hermione. I read in one of the books I got about wizards who can turn themselves into animals. They're called Anamagus…or Animorphs, or something like that, and besides, I've never had a cat look at me like that. It's kind of creepy actually."

Hermione was about to tell him he was imagining things when the cat suddenly jumped down off the desk and before their eyes started changing shape. Within a second, it had turned into the rather stern looking teacher that they had met at their sorting.

"Very good Mr. Potter." She said to him. "5 points to Ravenclaw for spotting that there was something wrong. The correct term however is _Animagus." _and then turning, she addressed the rest of the class. "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts, and if I catch anyone messing around in my class, will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

The rest of their Transfiguration class was less interesting. Professor McGonagall outlined what they would be learning throughout the year, and the long term goals in later years, and she warned them that most teachers liked to do the same with their first class so that the students had an idea what to expect. So for the most part, all they that first class was take notes.

When the school bell finally rang at 2 o'clock, they were more than happy to get out of the room. "What do you have next period Harry?" Hermione asked him.

Harry pulled out his schedule to see what they had and a big grin crossed his face. "What?" Hermione asked him.

"Beginning flying with Professor Hooch"

"Flying?" Hermione gasped out. "In the air?"

Harry looked at his friend for a moment, and saw that nearly all the color had drained out of her face. "You're afraid of heights aren't you?"

Hermione didn't answer, but simply nodded. Finally she said, "Before we got the house where we live now, we lived in Birmingham. We had a condo there on the third floor and it had a balcony, and I used to like climbing up on a small stool so I could look over the side to see what was going on."

"How old were you then?" Harry asked.

"Five." She replied. "Anyway, mum didn't like it. She thought I might get hurt, so she took the stool away, and told me not to do it again."

"Well, that does make sense. But why does that make you afraid of high places?"

Hermione didn't answer him.

"Hermione?" Harry asked quietly. "What happened?"

Finally she said, "She took the stool away, but she never thought about the two chairs that were around the patio table that was also out there. The chair was a lot higher that the stool, and pretty soon I was up on the chair, leaning right over the top of the balcony. I would have been alright, but she happened to see me from the kitchen and screamed when she saw me leaning that far over the top. Well the scream startled me, and I lost my balance and pitched forward over the top to the ground."

Harry gasped. 'From the third floor?" She nodded. "How badly were you hurt?"

"That just it. I wasn't hurt at all. I bounced."

"What do you mean you bounced?" Harry asked.

"I bounced…twice, and just lay there." Hermione stopped talking at this point, and Harry could see that she seemed to be trying to get herself under control. Finally she continued. "Anyway, they took me to the hospital and the doctors there did all sorts of tests, took x-rays, everything. They couldn't find anything wrong with me, not even a bruise. Everyone thought it was a miracle, but I think it was the magic in me that protected me. But ever since then, high places bother me." She hung her head.

Harry looked at his friend, and saw a tear sliding slowly down one of her cheeks. "Hermione." He said softly, but she didn't answer him. "Hermione." He repeated, a little more forcefully this time. Slowly she raised her head and looked at him. "You have nothing to be ashamed of alright? If I had fallen from a third floor balcony I'd probably be afraid too, and the fact you didn't actually get hurt doesn't matter."

Hermione sniffed. "But how can I do this class? What kind of witch is afraid of heights?"

"Hermione, everybody's afraid of something. For you, it's heights. Me? I don't like dark closed in places."

"Dark closed in places? But why? What happened to you Harry?"

"Another time Hermione. There's a lot more involved in it than just falling off a balcony, but I will tell you. Just not today."

She started to say something, probably to tell him something like he said to her about it not being his fault, but he cut her off.

"Today we concentrate on helping you start to feel comfortable on a broom, and that shouldn't that hard. This is a beginning class, and I don't think the Professor will expect us to fly more than a few feet off the ground until they're sure we know what we're doing. So try not to worry too much okay?"

She sniffed again but said "Okay. What time is it anyway?"

Harry looked at his watch. "Twenty after two. We better get going. We only have ten minutes to get to the class."

"Alright." And they headed off.

ooo000ooo

Harry2, was already out at the Quidditch pitch, waiting for the class to start, disillusioned as usual and standing well off to the side where he wouldn't be bumped into accidentally. He was curious to see how this first flying class would play out, and if things would happen they way they did before. It didn't take long before all the students were there and Madam Hooch arrived levitating a bundle of school brooms. With a wave of her wand, the brooms all lined up in a neat line. "Well, what are all of you waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand next to a broomstick. Come on, hurry up!"

The students all lined up next to one of the brooms, Hermione standing next to Harry.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom, and say, "Up!"" Madam Hooch told them.

"UP!" everyone shouted.

Harry's watched as his broom leaped up off the ground into his outstretched hand, but it was one of the few that did. Hermione's had simply rolled over and Neville's, he saw, hadn't moved at all. There seemed to be a quaver in Neville's voice, much like Hermione's that said that he too wanted to keep his feet on the ground.

After a few more tries, and some encouragement from Harry, Hermione finally was able to get her broom to lift up into her hand. Neville's however never did. He finally gave up and bent over to pick it up. Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and also explained that all brooms had a cushioning charm on them so that the rider didn't feel like the broom was splitting them in half.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you'll kick off from the ground, hard," said Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise about three feet up off the ground and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. Right? On my whistle – three – two –"

But Neville, who Harry saw was probably even more scared than Hermione at doing this, pushed off before the whistle had even touched Madam Hooch's lips. "Come back, boy!' she shouted at him, but Neville was rising straight

up like a balloon - twelve feet – twenty feet – soon he was up to level of one of the Quidditch viewing stands, all the while Hooch yelling at him to come down. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground that was getting farther and farther away - and then it happened, he started to slip sideways off the broom. With a scream, he fell off. At least forty feet straight down. 'WHAM!'

But instead of the crack of broken bones everyone also expected to hear, to everyones astonishment, Neville bounced up in the air three times before finally laying still, face down on the pitch.

ooo000ooo

Harry2 had been watching all this from the sidelines as Neville started into the air. He had been wondering what had changed to make Hooch change the location of their flying lesson from opposite the Forbidden Forrest, where t had been for him, to the Quidditch pitch, when he was brought out of his thoughts by Hooch's yelling.

"Oh shit Neville!" he quietly cursed, and watched as the boy slowly kept rising into the air. When he saw that Neville wes nearly level with the viewing stands, he realized that when Neville fell off this time, he would have a lot more than a cracked wrist. He'd be lucky not to be killed. Unfortunately, he also knew he couldn't use magic to bring the boy down. It would look too suspicious if Neville suddenly got control. So he had to let him fall. And fall he did, but before hit, Harry2 cast a cushioning charm under the ground where Neville landed, causing the boy to actually bounce. Thinking about this later, Harry2 figured Neville wouldn't think anything strange happened as the same thing had happened to him when his Uncle Algie had dropped him out the window. At least he hoped so.

ooo000ooo

Madam Hooch ran over Neville, who was still laying face down on the ground. She was sure the boy was seriously injured. As she reached him however, she heard a low groan, and Neville rolled over on his back. "Wha…what happened?" he asked weakly.

"You fell off your broom boy. Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked as she bent down to examine him.

"I…I don't think so." Neville replied in a groggy voice. "I fell? From where?"

"I better get to Madam Pomfey just in case. Now stay still boy, and I'll float you there."

She waved her wand and Neville floated a few feet into the air, but before she left, she turned to the class and said, "None of you is to move from this spot while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms on the ground where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say "Quidditch". Come on, dear."

No sooner had Hooch gotten Neville out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter. "Did you see the look on his face when he fell off the broom onto his fat arse, the great lump?" The other Slytherins all joined in.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a pug-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought _you'd _be the type to go for fat little squibs, Parvati."

"Oh Look!" said Malfoy, running up and picking something up off the ground. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him this morning."

Harry saw a small multi colored ball in Malfoys hand. The sun gleaming off it as he held it up.

"Give me that, Malfoy," said Ron Weasley. "It belongs to Neville." Everyone stopped talking to watch. Malfoy smiled nastily.

"I don't think so Weasley. You'd probably try to sell it. I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to get himself. – how about – up a tree?"

Ron Weasley's ears, Harry saw, turned pink at the insult. "Give it here, now!" Ron yelled, but Malfoy had leapt on to his broom and taken off into the air. When he got to the topmost branches of a huge oak tree, he hovered.

"Come and get it, Weasley!"

Ron grabbed his broom.

_"Go Ron!" _shouted another Gryffindor boy next to him.

He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he

soared towards the blond Slytherin. He stopped right in front of him. "Give it to me NOW!" he shouted.

The blond just looked at him, a smile on his face. "You want it Weasley? Come and get it." and took off across the pitch, Ron following behind.

ooo000ooo

_Oh this is too good to pass up. _Harry2 said to himself. _Two arse-holes with one stone. I just have to wait for the right moment._

The moment came when Malfoy put his broom in a dive, Ron following close behind. He was gaining on Malfoy, and was now almost opposite him in the dive.

But Harry2 have to do anything. As the two boys neared the ground, Ron misjudged where he was and crashed into Malfoy's side, sending both boys careening into the ground. Malfoy hit first, with Ron a split second behind him. There was a loud *CRUNCH*, as they hit, but as Harry2 found out later, it wasn't their necks breaking, but the brooms. He would later admit, (if only to himself) that he was wrong to wish them both seriously hurt, because they were both only 11 years old, and at this time hadn't actually done anything. No matter what they had become in the future.

In the mean time though, both were still banged up pretty badly. They had both skidded and rolled nearly 30 feet across the pitch after hitting the ground, and as a result, had multiple cuts and scrapes, with Malfoy dislocating his shoulder.

But it was Madam Hooch that really made Harry2 day. She had been coming back to the pitch after leaving Neville in Madam Pomfrey's capable hands, and she had seen the last few moments of the chase, as well as the crash. "Mr. Malfoy! Mr. Weasley! What the bloody hell did you think you were doing? You both could have been killed!"

Harry2 saw Ron start to say something he couldn't hear from where he was, but he had no problem hearing Hooch's reply. In fact he's have been surprised if the entire school didn't hear it. "OF ALL THE IDIOTIC EXCUSES…IF I HAVE MY WAY YOU'RE BOTH GOING TO BE EXPELLED!" and turning back to the class said. "Class dismissed."

He saw her march the two back up to the school, presumably to the hospital wing first. _Oh is McGonagall ever going to be pissed. _He thought with a smile. _I'll have to send Harry and Hermione some ear plugs by tomorrow morning before Foghorn Molly's howler arrives for Ron._ He started laughing again.

He knew that Lucius Malfoy would never allow Draco to be expelled, no matter what Hooch said, and because of that, Ron wouldn't be either, but he figured Mr. Filch would be having a lot of free help this month.

ooo000ooo

Ron and Draco's little escapade cost them dearly. While neither were expelled as Harry2 figured, both lost 50 points for their respective houses, and both their families had to pay for the brooms they had destroyed. On top of that, they were both given detentions with Filch every night for the remainder of the month. Snape of course had tried to intervene and get Malfoys detentions re-assigned to him, but Hooch wouldn't hear of it. She knew full well that if that happened, then they might as well cancel them outright. The matter ended up in front of Dumbledore, who in the end, had to side with Madam Hooch. That as the incident happened in her class, is was up to _her_ to assign detentions, and also up to her to decide who they would be served with.

Malfoy ended up getting the shitty end of the stick with the detentions, (In more ways than one) as it turned out, Argus Filch was a squib, and was treated with distain by most people because of it. He especially hated rich, snotty purebloods, and the Malfoy heir pretty much sealed his fate the night of his first detention when he complained to Filch that "scrubbing a floor by hand was the job of a house Elf, and was beneath someone of his Pure Blood status."

Filch smiled at him when he said this. "I see your point Mr. Malfoy. Please accept my apologies. I'll assign you something more suited to your obvious status. Please follow me." Filch said all of this in and extremely polite and respectful voice, and had Malfoy known anything about the man, he would have realized this was a major danger signal. Filch was never polite to ANYONE! Not even the staff. But Draco didn't know this and just figured Filch hadn't realized at first who he, and especially his _father_ was. "Weasley, get to work on the floor. I expect it half way finished by the time I return." He barked.

As Malfoy was being led down the hall by Filch he could resist turning for a moment, and with a big smile on his face, stuck his middle finger up in the air to Ron. Filch saw this out of the corned of his eye but didn't say anything…out loud that is. _Let see if you're still smiling by the end of the night you little bastard! _He thought to himself.

Draco's job that night, and for the rest of his detentions, was to muck out all the toilets in the school by hand with nothing more than a rag. To Draco's credit, he managed to only puke three times that first night. Which of course meant that he had to re-clean the toilet, and in one case the floor. He very rarely got back to his common room till nearly 10pm that whole month.

ooo000ooo

The next morning was a Friday, and Harry and Hermione had a double period of DADA with Professor Quirrell. They were both finishing up their breakfasts, when the post owls started to arrive. To his astonishment, Harry saw Hedwig fly into the hall and head for him. She landed right next to him on the table and with a "HOOT" of good morning, stuck her leg out.

Harry saw there was a small package attached to it along with a note. He untied both and opened the note.

_Dear Harry._

_I thought you and Hermione would like these ear plugs. Watch for a very old looking brown owl. If it goes to Ron Weasley, both of you put the ear plugs in. You'll find out why. Have a good day, and be careful around Quirrell today. I'll talk to you on the weekend._

_H._

He opened the small box and there were two pair of muggle ear plugs inside. He handed one pair to Hermione. "These are from…a friend of mine that I trust. If I tell you to put them in, do it. He said you'd know why soon after."

"A friend, who?" she asked.

Harry had expected this, but he simply shook his head. "I can't tell you now." But seeing the look on her face, he quickly added, "It's not a matter of trust. If it were I would tell you."

"Than why…"

"It's because I gave my word."

"Oh, well then don't break it. I can wait till you can tell me." Harry smiled at her gratefully. "Do you think…." She began

"Look!" Harry said, pointing to a decrepit looking brown owl that had just frown into the hall. "Put the earplugs in now." He told her starting top put his own in. Hermione did as he told her, and the room went quiet. So quiet that they didn't hear the noise Errol made when he landed, (or crashed) into the Gryffindor table right next to Ron Weasley. In his beak he held a red letter. With a squawk he dropped the letter in front of Ron and instantly took off, not wanting to be anywhere near that letter when it went off. He had never seen his mistress so pissed off, (Not ever by the twins, and that was saying something.) as when she was writing it.

Ron looked at the now smoking letter and gulped. "Just open it Ron and get it over with." Said Fred Weasley, Ron's older brother. "Yeah, We've gotten dozens of them. They're not that bad." Added George Weasley, Fred's twin.

Oh how wrong they were. You see, while it was true the twins had indeed gotten dozens of howlers from their mother for their antics in the last two years, they had never nearly killed themselves and another student in an act of stupidity, nor had they cost the Weasley family 60 Galleons (which they couldn't afford) to replace a broom. That coupled with Molly Weasley temper and naturally loud voice, would end up giving Ron the honor of receiving a howler that would become the stuff of legends.

Ron, with a trembling hand, reached out for the smoking letter. But before he could get it, it exploded. "RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY! _YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU. DID YOU EVEN STOP TO THINK BEFORE YOU FLEW OFF ON THAT BROOM? A BROOM WE NOW HAVE TO PAY 60 GALLEONS TO REPLACE! I'M SURPRISED THEY DIDN'T EXPELL YOU!_

_WHAT YOUR FATHER WILL THINK I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE I HAVEN'T HAD THE HEART TO TELL HIM YET!_

Mrs. Weasley's yells when she sent a howler, were usually a hundred times louder than usual, as the twins could attest to. But this time, he voice made the very walls of the school shake. People throughout the Hall were covering their ears with their hands in a futile attempt to block out the sound.

'_... LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT I WOULD SIMPLY DIE OF SHAME. WE DIDN'T RAISE YOU TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS. YOU AND THAT OTHER BOY BOTH COULD HAVE DIED ...'_

Ron meanwhile, after clapping his hands over his ears, had climbed under the Gryffindor table.

'_... ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED WITH YOU! I HAVE A GOOD MIND TO PULL YOU OUT OF SCHOOL AND ASK YOUR AUNT MURIAL TO TUTOR YOU INSTEAD. IF YOU EVER…"_

Harry tapped Hermione on the shoulder and when she look at him, he motioned her to follow him. He led her down a long hallway to the doors leading outside. Together they went out and closed the doors.

Harry removed his plugs, and then motioned to Hermione it was safe to remove hers as well. They could still hear Molly Weasley's voice bellowing from inside the school, but at least now there was no danger of them going deaf.

"Oh Harry. Thank God for your friend sending us those ear plugs. I've never heard anything that loud in my life." She said. "How anybody could do something like that to a child of theirs, I'll never understand."

They stayed outside for another ten minutes until the heard nothing more coming from the school. "Do you think it's safe to go back in Harry?"

"I think so Hermione. Sounds like Mrs. Weasley has run out of steam."

So they both headed back to the hall and got ready for defense class.

ooo000ooo

A/N2: Well I was going to continue it on from here, but I decided I'm make you wait a while longer for Harry's first class with Quirrell/Voldemort. I hope the next chapter doesn't take as long as this one did.


	12. The Potions Master Kisses the Floor

A/N: Thanks to everyone who sent in reviews and comments. Also my apologies to everyone for the long delay in the posting of this chapter. I ran into a problem with one of the later chapters that I'm working on that if I hadn't fixed would have meant re-thinking and re-writing this one completely.

Also it's time for another Copyright acknowledgement.

I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter world. That belongs to She Who Must Not be Named. (Except in whispers) lest she get the law firm of Dewey, Screwem & Young to come after me.

Chapter 11: The Potions Master Kisses the Floor

Wednesday, Sept 2

Harry was sitting in front of the fire in the Ravenclaw Common Room. He had Potions first thing this morning, and he was going through his Potions book again. but no matter how much he tried to read through the book, he couldn't concentrate. He was too bothered by his last class the day before.

The class, Defence Against the Dark Arts was taught by Professor Quirrel. A very odd looking man, which was saying a lot considering the things he'd seen so far in the Magical world. He was dressed in purple robes, and wore a turban. Harry remembered meeting Quirrel at the Leaky Cauldron when Hagrid first brought him to Diagon Alley, and he thought him a strange man then, what with his strange taste in clothes, and that stammer on top of it. But it was when he got to his first class with the man that Harry had really studied him….

The man had been odd to say the least and Harry could have sworn on more that one occasion he caught Quirrel staring at him. This was really the only thing that creeped Harry out. Since he come into this world, people had seemed to take an unusual interest in him, but with Quirrel, it was different somehow.

_Maybe it's just Harry's warning to be careful around him that's spooked me._ He thought. _I'll ask Hermione what she thinks about him after class is over. _

The class he gone without incident, although it was a bit boring, and more than a bit annoying as Quirrel stammered through everything he said. And then there was the strong, nearly overpowering smell of garlic that permeated the classroom. It was almost as if the man took a bath in the stuff.

Harry didn't mind garlic, he used it all the time at the Dursleys in fact, as it seemed to be the only spice other that salt that they liked. But this reminded him of the old saying about too much of a good thing.

Harry was pulled out of his memory when he heard someone coming down the stairs of the girls dormitory. He shook his head when he saw Hermione coming down the stairs. "Good morning Hermione." He said to her.

"Morning Harry. Sleep well?"

"Not too bad. A few strange dreams, but considering all the strange thing I've seen since I've come to this school, it's nothing. You ready for breakfast?"

"Absolutely. It's going to be a long morning. We have double Potions with the Hufflepuffs, and I've heard that Professor Snape isn't one of the most pleasant Professors in the school."

"Yeah, I've heard he favors his own house all the time. But I doubt he's that bad. Come on, we better get down to the Great Hall while there's something left."

Ten minutes later while eating, they heard a loud bang and looked up to see a big blue cloud of smoke rising over the Slytherin table. All the Slytherins were colored red and gold!

"Fred and George Weasley, my office NOW!" shouted Professor McGonagall to the pair.

"That was an interesting start to the morning," said Hermione, "although I wish they would have done it some time other than when we have Slytherins head of house in our first class."

"I know what you mean Harry. Professor Snape won't be in a good mood at all." She replied.

"Come on, we better get off to class before we're late." Said Harry glancing at his watch.

Hermione nodded and started gathering up her book bag which she had placed at her feet under the table. They were half way out of the hall when they were stopped by a call from Professor Flitwick.

"Mr. Potter, a moment please."

Harry and Hermione stopped and waited to the small Charms Professor to catch up to them. "Yes Sir?" Harry asked when Flitwick caught up to them.

"Mr. Potter, the Headmaster wishes to see you before class, and asked me to take you there because you won't know where his office is."

"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "Did I do something wrong Sir?" he asked, a little bit worried.

"Not as far as I know Mr. Potter. In fact I think he just wants to make sure that you're settling in here without any problems. He does that sometimes with students that are…well, better known than others." Said Flitwick.

Hermione frowned. "Better known?" Harry asked skeptically. "You mean famous don't you Sir?"

"Well, yes. That's probably closer to the truth than anything else I suppose."

Harry sighed as he turned to Hermione. "You might as well go ahead to class Hermione. I'll catch up to you as soon as I see what the Headmaster wants."

"Alright Harry. I'll take notes of anything you miss."

"Thanks." He replied with a smile, as she turned and headed off to the dungeons. Then turning back to his Head of house added. "After you Sir."

ooo000ooo

_Headmaster's Office_

Albus Dumbledore had just finished reading through his morning mail when he heard a knock on his door. "Enter." He said, already knowing who it was.

Filius, he saw came in first with Harry keeping a few respectful steps behind him. "Aw, Mr. Potter. Thank you for coming this morning. I've been meaning to speak to you but this is really the first opportunity I've had."

"Well I must admit Sir that I was curious why you wanted to see me. I was trying to remember if I'd done anything wrong on the way here, even though Professor Flitwick said I hadn't."

"Rest assured my boy, he is quite correct. No I wanted to see how your first day went and if you've been having any problems." Dumbledore replied.

Harry didn't let it show, but a warning bell went off in his head. "No Sir, my first day went well, and all the classes were amazing, at least so far."

"Good, good." Replied Dumbledore. "The other reason I wanted to see you is to tell you that if you do have any problems Harry, my door will always be open. Help will always be given to any student who asks for it."

"Thank you Sir." Harry said hesitantly. "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Of course not Harry. That what a school is for. To ask questions."

"Well, and please don't think I'm being rude or anything Headmaster, but do you do this sort of thing for every new student? I mean ask them up here to your office to see how their first day went?"

Dumbledore didn't answer right away but instead seemed to be staring directly into Harry's eyes. Harry saw one eye twitch slightly and his smile seemed to falter for a second before he answered. "No Harry, I don't. In truth I asked you here because I knew your parents, James and Lilly very well. Both in school and after they graduated." He replied. "And while I can't show favoritism to any student, I wanted to make sure that their son wasn't having any problems getting settled in."

"Thank you for being honest Sir. I do appreciate it, and no. So far everything has gone well."

Dumbledore smiled, but to Harry, the smile seemed _forced_ somehow. "Good then. That's really all I wanted to speak to you about, so I'll let you get back to class." And then turning to address Flitwick added. "Filius would you accompany Mr. Potter to his class and tell please Severus where he was so that he doesn't lose any points for being late?"

"Of course Albus. Come Mr. Potter."

Dumbledore watched them leave, and then put his head in his hands as soon as the door closed. _No doubt about it,_ he thought. _The boy is a natural Occlumens. It's just lucky I just brushed the outer edge of his thoughts. Now, where is that headache potion? _He thought to himself as he looked through a desk drawer.

As Dumbledore looked for the potion, all thoughts of warning his Potions Master not to try to read Harry's mind again were pushed aside. By the time he remembered, it would be too late.

ooo000ooo

_Potions Classroom, Dungeons._

Hermione was already sitting in her seat with her books out when Snape entered the class, his black robes billowing out behind him. He walked to the front of the room and after sitting down, pulled out a ledger and started to take attendance. When he called out the name "Potter" and got no response, he said "Does anyone know where Mr. Potter is and why he's not in class?"

Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes?" he said to her.

"Harry had to go to a meeting with the Headmaster before class Sir." She said.

"Of course he did." Snape drawled sarcastically. "Well we wouldn't want to interrupt the Headmaster's private audience with Mr. Potter would we?" and then continued on with the roll call without for an answer.

Hermione wanted to say something to the snarky man, but decided not to because not only would it do no good, but she'd likely only end up in detention. Instead, she took out parchment and started taking notes as Snape outlined the goals of the first term, and then what he expected them to do for they're first attempt at brewing a potion.

It was nearly 20 minutes before she heard a knock at the classroom door and Harry walked in. She saw that the Professor Snape was about to say something, but stopped when she saw Harry accompanied by Professor Flitwick.

"Sorry to interrupt your class Severus, but the Headmaster asked me to accompany Mr. Potter to class and let you know that he'd asked to see him before class started."

"Not at all. It's perfectly, alright. Thank you." He said coldly, the look on his face clearly saying that it was not perfectly alright. "Take your seat Mr. Potter."

"Well," Flitwick continued. He seemed unsure what else to say. "I'll let you get back to it then." and with a slight bow added, "Severus." And then left, closing the door behind him.

Snape walked back to his desk and took the ledger out again, marked something in it, and then flipped it closed with an irritated snap.

"Now, as I was saying…" He began, looking straight at Harry, "before I was interrupted, you are here to learn the art of potion making. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of a simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, or the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even how to put a in stopper death itself – that is if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Silence followed this little speech. Harry and Hermione looks with raised eyebrows. "Potter!" Snape said without warning. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"That would give you the beginnings of the Draught of Living Death Sir." Harry replied without hesitation.

Snape blinked, but quickly asked, "and where would you look if I told you to find me a Beazor?"

Again, without hesitation, Harry answered, "In the stomach of a goat Sir."

"What is the difference, Potter, between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

"Nothing Sir. They're different names for the same plant." Harry answered, and then added, "It's also known as Aconite in older parts of Europe."

Harry saw a red color starting to build up in Snape's face. "And where did you get this information Mr. Potter. Those last two aren't in the first year syllabus."

"I bought a few extra books when I got my textbooks Sir," Harry said almost sheepishly, looking down at his desk. "One of them was on potions."

"Potter!" Snape said staring at him. Harry looked up at the Professor and the two locked eyes. Suddenly Snape screamed out and grabbed the sides of his head. It was like what he did in the Great Hall, only this time it seemed much worse, and when he fell to the floor, he lay there twitching, blood flowing out his nose and ears.

Nobody moved, and the only sound was Snape's foot spasmodically hitting the side of his desk. Suddenly the classroom door banged open, and everyone saw Argus Filch, the caretaker standing in the door. "What happened? I heard someone scream. Where's Professor Snape gone? What ha…"

"Mr. Filch," Hermione said, "Professor Snape collapsed by the side of his desk. It was him you heard scream. Please go get help."

"Collapsed? What…where…" and then he saw the man lying on the floor.

"Mr. Filch!" Hermione said more forcefully. "Get help now!"

Filch seemed to come back to himself, and then taking a last look at Snape lying by his desk, ran.

Everyone started talking at once as Harry and Hermione went over to Snape. "Is…is he alive?" she asked Harry.

Harry placed his fingers on the side of Snape's neck and felt for a heartbeat. "Yeah, he's alive. He just seems to be out cold." Harry told her.

"Do you think we should try to move him or something?" she asked shakily.

"No." Harry said. "We don't know what's wrong with him. It could do more harm if we move him. Let's just wait for a teacher."

Hermione nodded.

They didn't wait long before they heard people running towards the classroom. Both looked up to see Professor Mcgonagall and another witch who they had both seen at the heads table come rushing into the classroom and up to where Snape lay.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, what happened?"

"Professor Snape was talking about potion ingredients, when he grabbed his head, screamed, and then dropped to the floor." Hermione told the woman, who they found out later was Poppy Pomfrey, the school's healer. "He isn't doing it now, but he was twitching after he fell." Harry added.

Poppy Pomfrey pulled out her wand and started to wave it over Snape, muttering under her breath. When she finished, she turned to Mcgonagall and said. "We have to get him to the hospital wing Minerva, quickly. He's suffered some kind of massive seizure."

Between the two of them they got Snape onto a conjured stretcher and started to float him out of the classroom. When they got out into the hall, Poppy said "Minerva, what about the students?"

McGonagall stopped and then turned back to the class. "Class is dismissed. Everyone return to your home rooms, or you may go to the library if you wish." She then hurried after Poppy.

ooo000ooo

Harry2 watched from the corner as Snape was floated out of his class and off to the hospital wing. _I knew the miserable bastard would try again, _he thought to himself. _ At least he'll be out of Harry's hair for a few weeks._ _It's just too bad he didn't pull out his wand and try it full power. THAT would have been something to see._ He felt a slight rumble as he thought this. _I'm sorry if you don't like what I was thinking Hogwarts. But you know better than anyone else what the man is like, and it's not like I did it to him. He did it to himself. _ He got no answer, but he felt the castle rumble again, although this time it was softer.

ooo000ooo

_Hospital Wing_

Dumbledore had rushed to the Hospital Wing as soon as he heard what had happened to his Potions Master, knowing somehow what had happened. When he arrived, he found Madam Pomfrey doing a scan of Severus Snape. "What happened to him Poppy?"

Pomfrey finished her scan and then turned to the Headmaster. "He seems to have suffered a severe mental attack Headmaster. It's caused his mind to shut down completely."

"Shut down? Will he be alright? I mean, will he recover?" Dumbledore asked her, hoping for the best.

"I believe so, but I won't know till he wakes up, and then it will likely be a few weeks before he is able to return to teaching."

"Do you have any idea how it happened?" he asked.

"None at all. I was alerted by Mr. Filch who said that he heard a scream in the Potions classroom as he was passing by, and the students told him that Severus had grabbed the sides of his head and collapsed." She shook her head. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he was blasted by an extremely powerful Occlumens, but he was in a first year class, so no one there could have done it."

"No, of course not." Dumbledore said. Deciding not to mention Harry as it would bring up questions about why his Potions teacher was illegally trying to read a students mind. "Do whatever you can for him Poppy, and please, keep me informed of any changes, day or night"

"Of course Headmaster."

Dumbledore looked at Snape again and then turned and left to go back to his office. All the while muttering to himself about how foolish Severus had been.

ooo000ooo

Harry and Hermione decided to spend the rest of their Potions period in the library before heading down to the Great Hall for lunch. They talked about what happened to Snape, and what could have caused his collapse. Hermione had suggested that it might have been a brain aneurism as that would have caused the pain and other symptoms he showed. But Harry thought back to what his older self had told him about Snape likely trying to break into his head, and the way his shields would react. He decided not to mention this to her, at least not yet.

After they're lunch they headed out to the Greenhouse 1 where they were having their first Herbology lesson with Madam Sprout. _Sprout!_ Harry thought. _What a perfect name for someone who teaches about plants._

The class was more interesting than he thought it would be. They learned all about some of the strangest plants and fungi he had every seen, and found out what they were used for. Of course these ones weren't anywhere near as dangerous as some of the ones in the other greenhouses, two of which were kept locked at all times when there wasn't a class in them.

After class, and after they had gotten cleaned up, the rest of the day was theirs, well at least till that night when they had Astronomy…at 11:30 at night till 1 in the morning! They decided to go for a walk around the Hogwarts grounds. They started out by walking down to the Black Lake. Hermione had read that the lake was over 800 feet deep in places, and was one of the many lochs that were scattered in and around Scotland, but to Harry, it just looked like any other lake, that is till they saw the giant squid stick it's head up above the surface and splash them with water from one of it's many tentacles.

They were about to take off running when they heard a loud booming laugh. They both turned to see Hagrid sitting on the steps of his hut, laughing at them. He motioned to both of them to come over. "Do you think we should Harry?" Hermione. "We don't even know who he is after all."

"Oh he's alright." He told his friend. "That's Hagrid. He's the game and groundskeeper here, and yeah, he's big, but he's harmless. In fact he's the one who brought me my Hogwarts letter."

"Oh, Hagrid brought it to you, not one of the Professors?" she asked.

"Yup. Scared the Dursleys out of a few years of their lives too." He added with a slightly evil grin. "Didn't he deliver your letter too?"

"No, it was Professor Mcgonagall that came to out house. She also had to convince my parents about the whole magic thing being real too." And at this point she started to laugh.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Well, she wasn't too convincing, ah, at least not until she turned our coffee table into an ostrich." She started laughing again. "Dad's jaw almost hit the floor, and I'm pretty sure my mother wet her pants." It's the first time I've ever seen them completely speechless. That is until the ostrich started pecking at Dad's tie." Now Harry was laughing as well.

"Did Hagrid have to do anything like that to convince your family?"

Harry's face darkened a bit, but he was also smiling. "Well, he gave my cousin a pig tail."

"A pig tail?" she asked. "How would that convince them?"

"No, you don't understand. He made a pigs tail grow out of Dudley's backside."

"Oh…..OH! Harry, he shouldn't have done that. He could get into a lot of trouble for doing something like that."

Harry smirked, "Well it's not like he wasn't mostly a pig to start with…which is probably why the spell didn't work fully."

Hermione looked confused. "What do you mean the spell didn't work? You said he gave your cousin a pig tail. The spell seems to have worked fine."

"No, no. You don't understand Hermione. " Harry said trying not to laugh out loud. "Hagrid tried turning him _into_ a pig, but all he got was the tail." And as he said this he lost control and started laughing.

Hermione smiled as she now understood fully. But she didn't think it was _that_ funny and told him so.

"It's not that…" Harry managed to say, "It's just that I remembered what happened after. Dudley grabbed his backside and started running around the room screaming. He looked like someone had just run a red hot poker up his arse!" Harry said, now laughing harder.

Hermione started thinking about this and then despite he best efforts, she also started laughing, but got herself under control after a few minutes. "Alright it was funny, but he could still get into trouble for doing it you know."

"I know he could, but only if I tell on him, which I won't do, and besides, it's not like he did something that hurt Dudley is it?" This of course made Harry start thinking about his obese cousin running around screaming again. which of course made him start laughing again.

"So," Hermione began, trying to change the subject, "what do you want to do for the rest of the day? Go back to the library, or explore the grounds some more?" she asked him.

Harry's breath hitched as he managed to regain control of his laughing again and finally asked "Why not do both? We have over 8 hours before Astronomy class starts, so we can spend some more time in the library and then head out and look around some more. I hear there's an old graveyard on the castle grounds that dates back to nearly the time of the founders. If we time it right, we can be there just after dark, and maybe we'll be able to see some more ghosts."

"Graveyard? After dark?" Hermione nearly squeaked. "I don't think so Harry…at least not after dark. Maybe we could go there first while the sun is still up though."

"Okay, we'll go out there first. Maybe that would be better now that I think about it. We'll see a lot of names we won't recognize out there. Names we'll be able to look up when we come back."

"Deal." Hermione agreed holding out her hand.

Harry took her hand and shook it. "Let's go." And they headed out of the Common Room and then down towards the main gate.


	13. Chapter 13 Conversations in the Night

A/N 1: Thanks again to all who sent in reviews, and again please know that while I don't answer them all, I do read them all and appreciate the feedback.

Chapter 12: Conversations in the Night

_Thursday, Sept 3rd. 3 am._

Harry and Hermione got back to the Ravenclaw home room extremely tired, and after saying goodnight to each other, headed up to their beds where they both fell asleep almost immediately. Both grateful that they didn't have any classes the next morning.

Meanwhile though, in another part of the castle…

ooo000ooo

Harry2 was walking towards the Headmasters office, having disillusioned himself. He checked the map and saw that Dumbledore was in his bedchamber and was likely already asleep. When he reached the Gargoyle, he put his hand on it, and said "Obsidian." Which was the Headmasters master override password. The Gargoyle moved aside silently, and he started up the stairs. _Hogwarts, please don't alert the Headmaster. I just want to talk to the sorting hat._ He got no reply, but then, he didn't expect one.

When he got to the office door, he held his breath and quietly opened the door. The office was just as he remembered it from when he was a student. Dumbledore's little silver instruments were all lined up on a small table, and in the corner sat Fawkes on his perch, his head under his wing fast asleep. But the moment he stepped foot into the office the Phoenix woke up. He looked at Harry2 curiously.

"Hello Fawkes." He said quietly, walking over to the large bird and petting him. "It's good to see you again. It's been a long time old friend."

Fawkes trilled softly as he moved his head into Harry2 hand. "Can you make sure your master doesn't wake while I'm here?" Fawkes bobbed his head once and flashed out of the room.

Finally, Harry2 looked up at the old hat. "Hello Salazar. I hear you wanted to talk to me."

A crack appeared near the brim of the old hat and it answered, "Indeed I do Mr. Potter. Hogwarts has told me a bit of what's going on, but I wanted to hear it from you before I decide to help you or not."

"Fair enough." Harry2 answered, and reaching up, he took the hat down from the shelf it was on and after conjuring a chair, sat down and put it on his head.

Almost immediately Harry2 felt a presence in his head as the sorting hat looked through his memories. Finally after what seemed like hours, it said. "Well, you certainly have led an interesting life since you left this school haven't you Mr. Potter? Defeater of the Dark Lord, Head Auror, Head of the DMLE, and one of the longest serving Headmasters in Hogwarts history. You've accomplished much, and yet…and yet you came back to do it all over again. My question is why?"

"What do you mean why?" Harry2 asked. "You've seen my memories. You saw what happened, all the people that died. How could you ask that question?" Harry2 replied indignantly.

"Yes I saw what happened. So what? That's life. People are born and they die. What I want to know is what makes you think you have the right to decide that it should be better, and that you are the one to make it so?"

"I'm doing it because no one else can. Because we lost too many good people in the war. People like Sirius, and Remus, and Tonks, and…and"

"And because you lost her?"

Harry2 didn't answer, but his head slumped down. Finally he said. "Yes. Also because I lost Hermione."

"So you're willing to throw it all away. All the accomplishments the Wizarding world has made since the end of the war. All so you can get her back?" Harry2 remained quiet. "You're were willing to risk everything, our entire world just so that you could get another chance with a woman you never told your feelings to? That's the most selfish thing I've ever heard Mr. Potter, and you better than most should know that coming from _me, _ that is saying a lot."

Harry2 grimaced. "Salazar, I am not YOU. I am not doing this JUST to get Hermione back. If it was just for her, I wouldn't have done it. Millions died who shouldn't have. This country was decimated, both Magical and Muggle alike, and all because of the ego of one evil twisted man with daddy issues. How…how could I not do something?"

"And if you end up making things worse? What then? Will you go back in time yet again? Will you keep going back till the future meets Harry Potter's idea of what the future should be? The future you chose for everyone? That sounds an awful lot like another meddling Wizard I could name. A man convinced that he knows what the greater good was for everyone."

Harry2 grabbed the hat off his head and threw it violently back on the shelf. "I am not Dumbledore!" He shouted at it.

"I was not talking about Dumbledore." The hat replied. "I was talking about me, and the presumptions I held. Oh yes I was completely convinced that I knew what was best. Muggleborns shouldn't be taught magic. They should have their magic bound and their memories of it Obliviated. '_They weren't trustworthy_' I told Godric. '_They weren't like us, and in the end they'd betray us._' But he wouldn't listen. So I tried to convince Helga and Rowena, and when they wouldn't listed either, I decided to do what was necessary myself. Because I _knew,_ it was for the greater good of our world."

"I…" Harry2 started, but the hat cut him off.

"Do you know what the only difference between us is Mr. Potter? The difference is that I've had 900 years to think about my sins. 900 years as a transfigured hat, forced to sift through the personalities of countless children, both Pureblood and Muggleborn. Time to realize that Godric was right. Oh the exact circumstances might be different, but the presumption is _exactly_ the same."

It was so quiet in the office that Harry2 could swear he could hear Dumbledore snoring in the next room. Finally, in a defeated voice he said "You're right Salazar, you're right. I did presume too much, but I just wanted to make things right, and not just for Hermione and me. But for everyone. What's the good of having this much power and knowledge if it can't be used to help people? That's all I wanted to do. I swear to you, that's all I wanted to do."

The hat was silent for as long time, but finally it said, "I know. And that's why I'll do what I can to help. I'm sorry I was so hard on you, but I had to make sure you knew just how dangerous a path you've chosen to walk. You hold the future of our entire world in your hands, and Merlin help you, and us, if you mess it up because you'll only get one chance."

"What do you mean one chance? Not that I want to try this again, but why only one?"

"You're a smart man Mr. Potter. If you defeat Voldemort, and I have no doubt you will because of your future knowledge, what do you think will happen the instant you destroy him? The instant he dies without the war that you're trying to prevent from happening?"

Harry2 was quiet for a long time, thinking about what that hat had asked. Finally it clicked into place. "I'll cease to exist in this time because without the war, I'll have never had a reason to come back in the first place to change things."

"Exactly. And also without the war, you'll have never had a reason to devote the bulk of your life to re-discovering the lost secrets of time travel. So you won't be able to come back again. It will be a completely new time line where you might not even live to be 173."

Harry2 was pondering this when the hat added, "So, are you sure you want to do this? It's still not too late. You could let things unfold as they did before, making only small changes, and living out your life as someone else, with only your younger self know who you really are, or you can keep to your plan and hope you make things better. What will you do?"

"I'll stick with the plan." Harry2 said after more thinking. "Harry, not to mention the others, shouldn't have to live in the world I know will come to pass if I do nothing."

"Very well Mr. Potter. I hope everything works out the way you want it to. For all our sakes."

Harry2 simply nodded as he got up. "Oh, one more thing. A favor if you will."

"And what is this favor?" Salazar asked.

"Next year, you're going to sort a young girl named Luna Lovegood. You put her in Ravenclaw the first time around and I just wanted to make sure you do so again. She was miserable there the first time because she had no friends, and because she's…well, different. But this time, with Harry and Hermione in the same house, I think she'll be much better off."

"And why do you think I'd sort her differently this time?"

"Well, I was afraid that you'd have seen her in my memories, and tried to find a better House for her. She's scary brilliant and is more than worthy of Rowena's House, but…"

"Do not worry Mr. Potter. Miss Lovegood will go into the House that best suits her."

Harry2 smiled for the first time since entering Dumbledore's office. "Thank you Salazar."

He started to leave but the hat called him back. "Wait a moment Mr. Potter. I have a favor to ask of you as well."

"Oh?" Harry2 asked. "What would that be?"

"That you tell nobody, not even your younger self who I truly am. You know only because you were Headmaster here, but no one else is to know. That is the way Godric wanted it"

Harry2 nodded. "Of course. How much time do you have left Salazar?"

"Godric bound me to the school for 1500 years for my crimes, and I have just under 600 years of penance left to serve before I can finally move on."

"I can't even imagine what it's been like for you. To have to stay and…"

"Do not waste your pity on me Mr. Potter. My crimes were clear, and my punishment deserved."

Harry2 nodded again sadly. "Then I'll take my leave of you. I have one other thing to do here tonight before I leave. That is if Fawkes will help me. You'll see me again in a few days when I come back as James Padfoot. 1st year student from America. Here with his father."

"Now _that_ should be interesting." Salazar replied.

"Yes it should. Oh and about the House he's sorted into…."

"Mr. Padfoot will be sorted into the House that best suits him." The hat said matter of factly.

"Of course. I wasn't going to suggest anything else."

Harry2 vanished the chair, and made his way to Fawkes perch. "Fawkes, can you help set right a terrible wrong?"

The phoenix cocked his head slightly and looked at Harry2 with a questioning look on his face.

"I want to break Sirius Black out of Azkaban. He's innocent, and I know where the real traitor is right now. Only a phoenix can bypass the wards of the prison and not leave any trace of how he escaped. Will you help me please?"

The red and gold bird didn't utter a sound, but simply stared into Harry2's eyes. Harry2 was about to give up and try to figure out another way to break Sirius out when the phoenix gave a sharp trill and hopped onto his shoulder. In a flash of fire, they were gone.

ooo000ooo

_Azkaban Fortress, somewhere in the North Sea._

Had anyone been standing outside Sirius Blacks cell, they would have gotten the shock of their lives when the young boy, no more than 11 by the look of him, appeared out of a brilliant flash of flame in the cell of the most feared prisoner in the fortress. On his shoulder was a red and gold phoenix, that instantly started trilling.

"Gee, thanks for the warning." Harry2 said to the bird, and then quickly made his way to the filthy man lying on the bed before him. "Sirius, wake up." he said as he gently prodded him. Instantly the mans eyes snapped open.

"What…what the hell do you want?" he slurred, still half asleep. But then as the fog in his head started to clear, and he saw the boy standing over him he asked, "Who the f…"

But that's as far as he got, because as soon as Harry2 saw that his Godfather was alive and coherent, he pointed a finger at him and whispered "_Stupify._"

Sirius Black went limp on what passed for his bed.

"Sorry Sirius, but we don't have time for explanations right now." He grabbed Sirius's hand and then turning to Fawkes, who was still perched on his shoulder, asked, "You ready to go?"

The phoenix trilled sharply, and with another flash, Harry 2, and the now ex-prisoner of Azkaban, were gone.

ooo000ooo

_Harry2's trunk apartment._

When they came out of the flash, Harry2 looked around. "How did you know to bring us here?" he asked the bird.

Fawkes simply looked at him as if to say _"Stupid human. How do you think?"_

Harry2 shook his head and chuckled. "Never mind Fawkes. I should have known better than to even ask." And then reaching up and stroking the birds head said softly "Thank you."

Fawkes trilled once and then flashed out of the trunk, leaving Harry2 and his godfather alone.

"Well Sirius, I can't leave you lying on the floor." And silently levitated his godfather into one of the bedrooms. After depositing him onto the bed and covering him with a blanket, he cast a sleeping charm on the man that would keep him out for at least 12 hours.

Harry2 went out to the kitchen and started writing two letters. The first was to Sirius, which he would leave by the bedside for him to find when he woke up. The second was to one of only two people at the Ministry of Magic he knew he could trust.

_Dear Padfoot._

_When you find this letter it will have been about 12 hours since you were broken out of Azkaban, and in all likelihood, all hell is breaking loose in the wizarding world. For this reason I have sealed this trunk, (yes, you are in a trunk apartment) so that you cannot leave. You're not being held prisoner. But you would likely be killed on sight if anyone saw you, so this is for your own safety. I will be back tonight and we can talk. But for know, the reason I broke you out is because I know about you not being the Potters secret keeper, and I know all about Wormtail._

_There is plenty of food in the kitchen, and clean robes in the wardrobe of this room. But before you do anything, PLEASE take a shower, a LONG one. May I suggest a hour or two?_

_Take care. _

_J.E._

_P.S. If you're wondering why I won't be here when you wake, I'm thinking of a career in rat catching. I happen to know where there's a particularly loathsome one at the moment, and I going to see if I'm any good at it._

Harry2 smiled as he finished the letter, and stuck it in an envelope. He wrote simply "Sirius" on the front. _He'll be so caught up in how I know all this that he won't notice the time passing._ Then he started the second letter.

When he finished, it too went into an envelope, this time sealed, and he cast a number of charms on it. One so that only the person it was addressed to would see it and be able to read it, and the second so that they would only be able to if they were alone.

He went back into the bedroom and left Sirius's letter by the bedside, and after disillusioning himself again, apparated out of the trunk.

ooo000ooo

He re-appeared outside the Gryffindor portrait. "What are you doing here again?" the Fat Lady asked, seeing that he was dressed in Ravenclaw colors. "Please open up. There's a rat in the tower and I've come to remove it."

The Fat Lady of course didn't understand this comment. But Hogwarts had told her this boy could access the tower anytime he wanted. So she open up her portrait.

"Thank you." Harry2 said as he passed her.

He quickly made his way up to the first year boys dorms, and after casting a sleeping charm on everyone in the room, he went in.

It only took a moment to find Ron Weasley, he simply follower the loud snores, and sure enough when he pulled open the bed curtains, there was Wormtail, fast asleep on the pillow next to him. With disgust, he scooped up the rat and conjured a cage out of a glass he found next to Neville's bed, and after putting the strongest unbreakable charm he knew on the cage, dropped the rat into it and locked it.

He was about to leave, but stopped and turned back to Ron Weasley. Silently he waved his hand at him and turned the boys hair Slytherin green. Satisfied, he silently left the dorm and headed back down the stairs.

When he was outside the portrait hols once again, the Fat Lady asked. "Well, did you catch the rat?"

"I did indeed My Lady." Harry2 answered, holding up the cage with the sleeping rat in it. "and I thank you for your help." Then without waiting for an answer, started off down the hallway, Disapparating out of Hogwarts as he walked.

ooo000ooo

_Ministry of Magic, 5:45 am._

Harry re-appeared outside a rather ornate office door. On it was a bronze plaque reading,

Amelia Bones

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

He pulled out his wand and scanned the door, looking for any charms that might alert someone if he opened the door. He was glad he did, because he found one. In fact is was a Goblin charm that he found. _You sneaky witch,_ he thought to himself as he undid the charm and entered.

He walked quickly past Bones's secretary's desk and into her office. He put the cage with Wormtail down in the center of her desk, and then pulling out the letter he had written to her, placed it on the desk next to the cage. On it he had written her name and "Read me BEFORE touching the cage." Then he woke up the rat.

ooo000ooo

Peter Pettigrew wasn't the smartest Wizard in the world, but even he knew something was wrong when he woke up. For one thing he was on the soft pillow he had fallen asleep on, but rather, he was on a hard surface. He opened up his eyes and let out a loud squeak. Before him stood Harry Potter, the son of his two best friends that he had betrayed to their deaths 10 years before.

"Hello Peter." Said Harry2 conversationally. "Glad to see you're awake. I won't keep you long, but before I left, I just _had_ to see the look on your face when you realized you'd been caught." The rat squeaked again. "This is Amelia Bones's office, and I'm leaving you here on her desk for her to find when she comes into work later this morning." Harry2 smiled at the rat. "I'm sure you two will have lots to talk about. Bye for now." And then, after stunning the rat, left as quietly as he had entered, re-applying the Goblin intruder charm after he closed the door.

He apparated to a deserted alley near the Leaky Cauldron, and made his way to the tavern. Tom, the bar owner was not pleased to be woken up so early, but when Harry2, back in his James Evans glamour, paid him twice the normal rate for a room, his displeasure was dampened considerably.

He went quietly up to his room and dropped down on the bed, not even taking off his boots. His last thought as sleep surrounded him was. _This has been a good day_ .

ooo000ooo

A/N 2: Sorry about the very long wait for this chapter, but things happen, and in my case what happened was being put on the night shift for the last few months. It left me very little time to write because I had other things to do in the daytime when most normal people are up and about. I hope I'm not on it too much longer. Let me know what you think of the chapter


	14. Chapter 14 A Marauder's Fall From Grace

A/N: Disclaimer time. The Harry Potter characters and world belong to J.K. Rowling. It's her sandbox, I'm just borrowing her pail and shovel for a short time.

Chapter 13: A Marauders's Fall From Grace

_Bones Estate. 7:35 am_

Amelia Bones had been the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the past 8 years. She had worked her way up through the Auror ranks, eventually becoming Head Auror at the height of the first war against Voldemort, and had figured that she would continue in this job for many more years. But fate had stepped it and tossed a Joker into the deck. A Joker by the name of Barty Crouch Jr.

His father, Barty Sr., was the head of the DMLE at the time, and when Jr. had been outed as a Death Eater, in front of the entire Wizengamot no less, his father had no choice but to step down, and Amelia, who had been next in line, had been promoted to the top job. A job that was arguably even more powerful that the Minister himself.

Madame Bones, or _Lady Bones,_ when people had to be formal, lived with her niece Susan, whose parents, along with Amelia's husband Edgar McMillan, had lost their lives in the war. Edgar McMillan, who had also been an Auror, had been killed in a late night raid on a Death Eater hideout some twelve years earlier, and his brother Mitchell along with his wife Allison had both been murdered only days before the Dark Lord fell. So Amelia had taken Susan in and raised her as her own, even going so far as to blood adopt the baby. She had also re-claimed her maiden names of Bones. Not because she was ashamed of the McMillan name, far from it. But because she was now the last of the Bones line. One of the Original Thirteen Houses, and her obligations to maintain the family name took precedence.

It had been difficult for her at first. She had lost her husband only a year earlier and now without any preparations, she was an instant mother. It had been hard that first year, but with the help of her house elf Tilly, and the gradual awakening of her motherly instincts, things had gotten better, and by the time of this story, she never thought of Susan anymore as her niece, but rather as the daughter that she was. A daughter who was currently attending her first year at Hogwarts.

Amelia was currently sitting in her living room drinking her first of many cups of coffee that day when her floo flashed to life. In it was the head of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. "Amelia, thank the gods you're up. You have to come in right away. There's been an escape from Azkaban."

Amelia Bones spilled her coffee. "What?" she asked, "Who? When?"

"Sirius Black escaped sometime between the last cell check at 2 am and 6 when the guards went to their morning rounds, and they have no idea how he did it."

Bones couldn't think straight. How could Black, or anybody for that matter escape from the prison? He was in the maximum security wing surrounded by Dementors. "Cornelius, have they searched the prison and the surrounding grounds itself? Maybe he just got out of his cell but is still on the island?"

"No, no." Fudge sputtered. "That's the first thing they thought of. He's nowhere on the island."

"Alright Cornelius, I'll come in right away. Give me…" she looked up at grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "fifteen minutes to get dressed. I'll meet you in your office at 8."

"Good good good." Fudge stammered, "I'll see you then." and pulled his head out of the floo, breaking the connection.

"Shit!" she swore as she got up. "What a way to start the day." She then called out to her house elf. "Tilly."

A small, greenish creature popped into the room. She was wearing a light blue toga like outfit with the Boned family crest on it. "Yous called Tilly Mistress?" she asked.

"Yes Tilly. I have to go into the Ministry early, so could you clear all this up," gesturing to the tea tray the elf had brought into her earlier, "I have to go get dressed."

"Right away Mistress." The elf replied and went to gather up the tray.

"Wait a second." Amelia said, stopping her just before the tray disappeared. She reached over and grabbed a croissant off the tray and stuffed half of it in her mouth. "Now you can take it Tilly. Thank you."

The elf bowed, smiling as she did so and then both elf and tray disappeared. Amelia started off to her bedroom to get dressed, not knowing that the escape of Sirius Black earlier that morning, and what she would find on her desk when she went into work later, would set in motion a chain of events that would rock the Wizarding World to it's very foundation.

ooo000ooo

_Hogwarts: Headmasters Office_

As Amelia Bones was getting dressed, Albus Dumbledore was also getting the news of Blacks escape from the Minister. Fudge told him that to protect the school he was going to assign a squad of Dementors to guard the school, but Dumbledore had forbidden it in no uncertain terms.

"Cornelius, this is a school. Not Azkaban Prison. You know my feelings about the Dementors. They are the vilest things that inhabit our world, and if you think that I will permit you, or anyone else to place them anywhere near the children of this school, then you should go to St. Mungo's and have yourself checked out by a mind healer." Dumbledore told him in cold voice

"Now see here Dumbledore," Fudge sputtered, he face reddening, "I am the Minister of Magic, and I will not be spoken to like that. I decide where the Dementors go, not you!"

"Yes, you are the Minister of Magic Cornelius, but I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts." and then after a pause added, "I am also the Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot, and if you try putting those foul abominations anywhere near this school, then I will call an emergency session of the Wizengamot to inform them of your actions. Or have you forgotten that most of the members either have children or grandchildren attending Hogwarts right now? Do you honestly think they'll permit you to endanger their lives?" he asked.

"Dumbledore, the Ministry has complete control of the Dementors. They'll be told to never enter the school grounds unless Black is spotted. There's no danger to the students." Fudge retorted, his voice raised.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Cornelius, you are deluding yourself if you think the Dementors are under the Ministry's, or anyone else's control. They stay at Azkaban because they choose to. Nothing more."

Fudge started to sputter again in protest, but he was cut off by Dumbledore.

"The only thing that will stop them Cornelius is the Patronus Charm which 95% our population can't do. So think carefully Minister before you do this

Minister. Think _very_ carefully."

Fudge didn't bother to reply to this final statement, he simply turned, and grabbing a handful of floo power, threw in the fireplace and said, "Ministry of Magic: Ministers Office." and disappeared into the green flames, leaving the Headmaster alone in his office.

"Bloody fool." Dumbledore muttered to himself.

ooo000ooo

Amelia got to the Ministry with 5 minutes to spare and went directly to the Ministers office. There she found Fudge ranting to his Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge over the fact that Dumbledore flat out refused to let him station the Dementors at Hogwarts. _Really!_ She thought to herself. _First Black, then Fudge, all before 8 o'clock But Umbridge? There should be some sort of law against that. _"Good morning Cornelius," she said, ignoring the toad like woman next to his desk. "Any more news about Black?"

"Nothing new Amelia. I've recalled all the Aurors that were on leave to help in the search for Black, but so far they haven't found anything. They don't even know how he got out of his cell."

Amelia nodded and asked, "What was that I heard when I walked in about the Dementors? Have they been causing trouble as well?"

"No no. I want to place a squad of them around Hogwarts to protect the school in cause Black shows up there. Harry Potter is at the school this year, and he probably wants to get back at Potter for finishing off his master, but Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. He practically threatened me when I told him! Said he bring the whole thing up before the Wizengamot. Me! The Minister of Magic! Who the bloody hell does he think he is?" Fudge ranted.

"Exactly." Simpered Umbridge.

"He most likely thinks he's Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot, AND, the person whose head everyone will demand on a pike if one of those damn things attacks a student. That's who." Amelia replied in a dry voice.

Fudge glared at her. "That's hardly the point Madame Bones," Umbridge said. Headmaster Dumbledore needs to remember that he is not the Minister of Magic, and that he doesn't give orders to the Ministry."

"I don't agree with Albus on everything, but on this Cornelius, I do. Dementors pose a far greater threat to the school than one escaped Death Eater. Send some of the Auror to the school if you're worried. They can even patrol the grounds while they're there." She paused at this to let him think about it for a few moments, and then continued. "It's not that you want to increase the security at Hogwarts that he objects too, it's the Dementors, and the fact that the students would be helpless if they came onto the grounds." She replied, ignoring Umbridge's presence again. A fact that wasn't lost on the toad like woman.

"I think you should do what you planned Minister." Umbridge began. "Dumbledore has to be reminded that YOU are the person in charge of the Ministry, not him." She said in a sickening voice.

Fudge dropped his head into his hands. "I just don't know what to do here." He muttered.

"Well," Amelia said she said after a full minute had passed, "let me know what you decide to do, would you? I want to know if I should pack up my office or not."

Fudge's head shot up. "What…what do you mean Amelia?" he asked. "Why would you have to pack up your office?"

"Because if you send Dementors to Hogwarts, in a weeks time, knowing Albus Dumbledore, you won't be Minister of Magic anymore, _and,_ as I'm next in the line of succession, I'll most likely be voted in as Interim Minister until they can call elections. So, I'd like some advanced notice." She replied.

Fudge started to sputter again, and Umbridge had opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off. "If you need me Minister, I'll be in my office going over the reports of Blacks escape. If not, then I'll see you at our regular meeting at 1 this afternoon. Good Morning." She then turned and left Fudge, who was still sputtering, and Umbridge, who still had her mouth open, alone in the office.

ooo000ooo

When she entered into the DMLE's Heads outer office, she found her secretary Abigail at her desk. "Abigail, what are you doing here so early? I didn't call you."

"The Minister's office called me Ma'am. They said you'd be in early and that you'd likely need me."

Amelia sighed. "Well they needn't have done that. I would have survived for a hour till you came in at 9, but thank you for coming in early."

"No problem." Abigail replied with a smile. "I put the report about the Black escape on your desk. There isn't much there though."

"That's fine." She replied as she started towards her office door. "Oh Abigail, you didn't think to make coffee did you?" she asked her secretary hopefully.

"Already done. Extra strong, just the way you like it."

"See, I knew there was a reason I hired you. You make the best coffee in the Ministry." Amelia said opening her door, and shrugging off her outer cloak as she walked in. She only got a few steps into the office though, when she spotted the cage sitting on her desk with what looked like a dead rat in it. "Abigail, could you come here please." She called.

Her secretary appeared at the door moment later. "Yes?" she asked.

"Why is there a cage with a dead rat on my desk?" she asked her.

Abigail looked at the desk, but saw nothing but a few papers and the report folder she had left there earlier. "What cage and rat? There's nothing there Ma'am but the folder I left, and a few papers."

Amelia looked at her for a second. "You don't see the cage sitting in the middle of my desk?"

"No Ma'am I don't. Should I call Ministry Security?"

"No. Is Rufus Scrimgeour in the building yet?"

"He checked in fifteen minutes ago. He should be in Auror Headquarters. Should I call him?"

"No, go down there yourself and tell him what I found, but tell him I said to come up here quietly. Understand?"

Abigail nodded her head. "Right away Ma'am." And left to get the Head Auror.

_"And stop calling me Ma'am."_ She muttered under her breath as she went outside to the outer office to wait for Scrimgeour.

While she waited, she started thinking back to when she hired Abigail. It was right after getting the job as head of the DMLE. She had gone through 11 secretaries in a week before she found the rather shy Muggleborn girl who was barely 4 months out of Hogwarts. Abigail Peters had been in Ravenclaw and near top of her class, and Amelia was convinced that the Ministry had only hired her for the secretarial pool so that other Muggleborns couldn't say that the Ministry only hired Purebloods. The girl was never supposed to get a position as the secretary for a regular department head, let alone the head of the DMLE, and there were more than a few Pureblood feathers ruffled over it.

It was because of this that she had her first run in with Deloris Umbridge, newly promoted to the jog of "Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic"

** Flashback – October 1983 **

_Amelia had been about to enter her new office one day when she heard a sickeningly sweet voice call her name. "Amelia, I wonder if I could have a word with you?"_

_As she turned to see who had called to her, her first thought was that the woman…(was it a woman?)…looked like a giant toad wearing a hideous pink cardigan. "Yes? What can I do for you Madam…?" _

_"I'm Deloris Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge…."_

_It was strange, Amelia thought later. She could have sworn she heard the sound of a team of horses rise up and scream in terror as Umbridge said her last name._

_"I just wanted to have a small word about the girl you hired as your secretary."_

_"Alright, come into my office, we can talk there." They went into the inner office and Amelia cast a privacy charm. She had an idea what this was going to be about, and she didn't want her new secretary to hear it. "Now, what about her?"_

_"Well you are aware she a Mu…Muggleborn are you not?"_

_The fact that Umbridge almost said "Mudblood" was not lost on Amelia, but for the time being she decided to pretend she missed it. "Of course I'm aware of it. What of it?"_

_"Well, surely there must be someone better, someone more appropriate that you could have found for such a high profile appointment? Someone more like us?" Umbridge replied in the simpering voice that would become her trademark._

_"Someone more appropriate? Like who? I went through 11 secretaries before I came to Abigail, and they were all inbred imbeciles who were probably only hired because they either knew someone who worked here already, or they're related to someone who works here."_

_"But…but those girls were all from very prominent Pureblood families!" Umbridge said, fury clearly evident in her voice._

_"So they were Purebloods. So what? They were all either idiots, or they expected to be able to have the job, and not have to do any work. Either way, I don't have the time or patience for that kind of tripe. I want a secretary who not only knows what they're doing, but is willing to do they're job…and I found her. Her name is Abigail Peters. You don't like it? Too fucking bad. Deal with it!"_

_Now Amelia Bones did not as a rule, talk like this to anyone. Even when she was very angry. But for every rule there are exceptions, and the squat bigoted twat in front of her was one of them. She had picked up a great deal of very colorful language in her years as an Auror, and while she seldom used any of it, she never forgot it either._

_"You ….you can't speak to me like that. I'm the Senior Undersecretary to Minister of Magic, and if you don't apologize to me this instant I'll…."_

_"And I am Lady Amelia Francesca Bones. Head of the Ancient House of Bones, one of the original Twelve Houses of Magic...and you….well I don't know what the bloody hell you are. But I do know you're nothing more than the Ministers private gofer." _

_As she said this, all the color drained out of Umbridge's face._

_"Furthermore. Don't you EVER address me by my first name again unless I give you leave to do so. People who work in the Ministry, even ones from minor houses like yours should know better than to address their betters in such a familiar way."_

_By this time, Umbridge had her head down, but Amelia saw that she was absolutely seething, but didn't dare say anything at the dressing down she was receiving, and being called a member of a minor house made it ten times worse. Amelia had been taught the all about the Original Twelve by her father. He told her of the history, and especially the customs dictated when addressing a member of one of these houses, and while her father no more believed in all that "nobility" crap than she did, she could as they say 'Walk the walk, and talk the talk' when necessary._

_"So why don't you go back to your office, and keep you nose out of business that doesn't concern you. Madam Senior Undersecretary to Minister of Magic."_

** End Flashback **

Amelia was startled out of her memories by the door to her office opening. "Amelia, are you alright? Abigail said you found a suspicious package on your desk when you went in?"

"Yes Rufus I did. I called you because you're better with magical detection charms than I am, and whoever did the ones on this one must have tied it into my magical signature, and there are very few people capable of doing that."

"Well lets see it then and see if I can find something." Scrimgeour replied, drawing his wand and approaching her inner office door which was still open.

He looked at the desk and saw nothing but a folder and papers, just like Amelia's secretary. "It's still there?" he asked.

"Yes." And then noticed the envelope leaning up against the cage for the first time. "What about the envelope leaning against the cage?" she asked.

"Can't see that either." He replied as he waved his wand over the desk. "_Magicis Revelio." _He said softly, and after a moment said. "The only magic I'm detecting are the privacy and locking charms on your desk. There's nothing else registering. Is there anything written on the envelope?"

"Just my name, and Read me BEFORE touching the cage." She replied.

Scrimgeour rubbed his chin in thought. "I don't know what to recommend to you Amelia. On one hand, it could be a trap, but somehow I don't think so. Anyone with the power to do something like this could have done something much more simple. I think they just wanted to make certain that you were the only one to see it, at least at first."

Amelia thought about this and realized her old friend was right. Plus there was something she hadn't considered before. Whoever had left this here had gotten into the Ministry, and into her office without tripping the wards, left the cage, left her office. Again without tripping the wards, and then finally gotten out of the Ministry, all without being detected. She made a decision and reached out and picked up the envelope.

"Amelia NO!" Scrimgeour started when he saw what she was doing. But it was too late. She had the envelope in her hands…and nothing happened.

"Amelia that was stupid as hell. What if it had been cursed?"

"Then I would have fired you for giving me bad advice." She replied with a smile. Slowly she opened the envelope, removed the letter inside and started to read it.

To Scrimgeour it seemed like she was reading for hours with only the occasional glance at her desk. He assumed she was looking at the still unseen cage. Finally she went to her chair and slumped down in it. Scrimgeour thought she looked a lot paler. "Are you alright Amelia? Should I call for a healer?" her secretary Abigail asked, concern clearly etched on her face. Later, Amelia would realize later that this was the first time Abigail had addressed her by her first name since she had started working for her.

"No, I'm alright. It wasn't cursed…it was just a shock." She pulled out her wand and tapping the invisible letter said, _"A Traitor Revealed."_

Rufus Scrimgeour and Abigail Peters watched and the letter, the envelope, and the cage with the dead looking rat popped into view. Silently she handed the letter to Scrimgeour. "Read it out loud Rufus, I don't trust myself."

Rufus looked at the letter, cleared his throat and began.

_"To Lady Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE._

_First let me apologize Lady Bones for breaking into your office. If there was any other way, I could have trusted, I would have done it._

_The unbreakable cage before you contains an illegal Animagus named Peter Pettigrew. Yes. THAT Peter Pettigrew. He's not dead, though I was sorely tempted let me tell you. When you wake him up, you'll find out that among other things, he is a Death Eater, and has been since BEFORE Voldemort supposedly died. He was also, despite what everyone believed at the time, even Albus Dumbledore, the true Secret Keeper for the Potter's the night James and Lily died. You see, James Potter thought it would be too obvious to use Sirius Black as Secret Keeper as everyone knew the two were as close as brothers. So between the three of them, they came up with the idea to use Sirius as a decoy, and Peter as the real Secret Keeper._

_It was a good idea, but they didn't know that Pettigrew was a Death Eater and a spy in Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. Two day after the Fidelius Charm was cast on their cottage, the rat led Voldemort right to them. _

_Sirius knew there was no way Voldemort could have found them unless the Secret Keeper had betrayed the secret, so after seeing that baby Harry was alive and safe with Rubeus Hagrid, he took off to find and kill Pettigrew. He finally tracked him down in Muggle London, but before he could curse the traitor, Pettigrew, who was holding his wand behind his back, pulled out a knife and cut off one of his fingers, all the time shouting about how Sirius had betrayed James and Lily to everyone within hearing distance. _

_He then fired a reducto curse into the pavement near him which as you know hit a gas main. Whether or not he knew about the gas main, I don't know. My guess is no, based on the look of surprise Sirius said he had on his face, but that doesn't really matter does it?_

_Anyhow, Sirius was blown off his feet by the blast, but otherwise unhurt. Peter then changed into his Animagus for of a rat and disappeared into a sewer and left Sirius to take the blame. He was unknowingly aided in this by Barty Crouch Sr., then DMLE head, who decided that the evidence of Sirius's guilt was so overwhelming that he didn't need to be given a trial or to be questioned with Veritaserum, and he just chucked him into Azkaban without either. _

_That's right. He condemned the Head of an Ancient and Nobel House, one of the Original Twelve, to life in Azkaban with a trial. This can be confirmed by trying to look up the trial and questioning records that don't exist, and by questioning Pettigrew with the Veritaserum that Black wasn't given._

_Now, as to Sirius's escape. I must confess that I was behind that. Normally I wouldn't tell you how I did it, but I know if I don't, you'll likely drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out. You see, Azkaban and your office weren't the only places I broke into last night. I also broke into Hogwarts and "borrowed" Albus Dumbledore's Phoenix Fawkes. _

_As I'm sure you know, Phoenix's will never do the bidding of a dark wizard, or someone who intends harm. He looked into me and saw that I knew Sirius was innocent, and decided to help me save an innocent man. But even then, he also looked "into" Sirius to make sure that "I" hadn't been misled. It was only then that he flashed us out to where Sirius is being kept until recovers. Only when we see the story about Pettigrew's capture, and confession, will Sirius come forward._

_Now comes the part where I "respectively request" you do something a certain way. You see, I know a lot about Cornelius Fudge. He is far more concerned about how this will look in the paper than he is about doing the right thing. So I would strongly "suggest" that you "officially" question Pettigrew with Veritaserum, and get him before the Wizengamot without telling Fudge beforehand. Otherwise he'll stick his nose into It, and try to f…muck it up._

_Oh, one final thing before I close this. Just before I stunned Pettigrew and left your office, I woke him up while wearing a glamour to look like 11 year old Harry Potter. I figured this would really freak him out._

_A Friend of Sirius Black_

_P.S. When Sirius finally turns himself in, don't bother asking him who I am because by then I will have asked him to give an unbreakable vow never to reveal my identity. Sorry._

Bloody hell!" said Rufus Scrimgeour and Abigail Peters almost in unison after he finished. "What do you want to do Amelia?"

"Who's down in Auror Headquarters you can trust completely?" she asked.

"Kingsley Shackelbolt is down there. Shack is like you Amelia. I would trust him with my life."

Amelia thought for a few moments. Finally she said, "Go and get him. The two of you can act as witnesses, also bring along with a _sealed_ vial of Veritaserum. I don't want anyone saying that the potion could have been tampered with beforehand." Then turning to Abigail she said, "Abigail I'll need you to act as the official stenographer for this interrogation. Can you do that?"

"Yes Ma'am, absolutely." she replied.

"Good. Rufus? Not a word to ANYONE. Go."

ooo000ooo

It took Scrimgeour ten minutes to collect Shackelbolt from the Auror Headquarters and get them back up to Amelia's office. In that time, the DMLE head had prepared for the interrogation that was to take lace when they returned. She had conjured a chair for Pettigrew, one he could be chained into to prevent escape, and had gotten a pair of magic suppressing manacles from her desk. These were different from non magical handcuffs in that they could either be attached so that the persons hands were locked together, or they could be left separated, but would still suppress their magic.

When the two Aurors returned, Amelia told Shackelbolt that both he and Rufus were going to be witnesses to an official interrogation that was going to take place.

"Pardon me Director, but if this interrogation is official, then why is it taking place here in your office rather than in an interrogation room down in Ministry lockup?' Shackelbolt asked her.

"Because Kingsley, I want to prevent interference from the Ministers Office."

"What kind of interfere…" Kingsley began.

"Later Auror Shackelbolt." Amelia told him as she grabbed the cage from her desk, and took it over to the chair she had conjured earlier. She opened the cages door and unceremoniously dumped the rat out onto the floor. Then taking out her wand, cast the Animagus reversing spell on him.

At first nothing happened, and for a brief moment, Amelia thought she might end up looking like a fool. But suddenly a blue light enveloped the rat, and it began to change. Slowly the rodent began to morph into the shape of a man. A short, very dirty looking man who looked to be going bald. Once the transformation started, it only took about 5 seconds to complete, and there before them lay Pettigrew.

"Director," Shackelbolt began, "this is impossible. I know this man. That's Peter Pettigrew. But it can be. He's dead."

"No Kingsley, he's not dead as you can see." Amelia replied.

"But he was supposed to have been killed ten years ago when…..that means Black…Director?" he asked Amelia. A look of shock on his face.

"That's what we're here to find out." She grabbed the manacles and tossed to Shackelbolt. "Search him and then shackle in the chair before I enervate him please."

Kingsley knelt down and started searching Pettigrew, finding two wands, a rather large knife, plus another dagger strapped to his leg. During the search, he also discovered the dark mark burned onto the inside of the mans left arm.

When he had completed the physical search, he stood, pulled out his wand and said "Accio portkeys." Two small objects came out from hidden places in Pettigrew's robes. Satisfied, Kingsley knelt down and snapped the manacles onto Pettigrew's wrists, but leaving them separated, so that when he levitated him into the chair a few moments later, he could chain his arms onto the arms. "He ready Director." Kingsley told Amelia.

"Thank you Kingsley." She pointed her wand at the seated, (and now bound man) and said "_Enervate._"

ooo000ooo

When Peter Pettigrew woke and opened his eyes he knew he was in deep shit. Because there standing before him were three people he definitely didn't want to see. He knew all of them from during the war. They had all been Aurors at the time, and all had known the Potters. Oh yes. He was in _very_ deep shit.

"Good Morning Mr. Pettigrew." Said Amelia conversationally. "We've going to have a little talk about the night James and Lily Potter died. You don't mind do you? Good." She said, not waiting for him to answer. "Rufus, administer the Veritaserum."

Scrimgeour pulled a small vial out of his pocket and broke the magical seal that was on it. "Open you mouth." He told Pettigrew in a voice that said _Open it or I'll do it for you!_ Peter opened him mouth and Scrimgeour dripped three drops of the clear liquid into it. Instantly Pettigrew eyes clouded over, and his face went slack. "He's under Director." he told Amelia.

Amelia nodded to Abigail, who picked up her parchment and quill and prepared to start writing.

"This interrogation is taking place on September 3rd 1991. The time is 8:45 am.

The Interrogator is Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Also present are Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour, Auror First Class Kingsley Shackelbolt, and acting as official stenographer, Abigail Peters, Executive Secretary to Amelia Bones."

Amelia turned to address Pettigrew. "State your full name for the record."

_"Peter William Pettigrew." _He answered is a slightly slurred voice.

"Are you a Death Eater Mr. Pettigrew?"

_"Yes."_

"Were you the Secret Keeper for the Potters the night they were killed?"

_"Yes."_

"Is Sirius Black a Death Eater?"

_"No."_

At this answer, Kingsley was heard to suck in his breath.

Amelia continued. "Is this something you just believe, or know to be a fact?"

_"A fact. Sirius hated the Dark Lord and would never have betrayed James. They were like brothers."_

"You have the Dark mark on your arm. Were you under the Imperious curse when you got it, or did you take it willingly?"

_"I took the mark willingly."_

"Why did you become a Death Eater?"

_"I didn't think the light side could win, and I didn't want to die fighting for a lost cause."_

"How did the Dark Lord find the Potters?"

_"I was the Secret Keeper for their house, and I led my master to them as he ordered."_

"Is the Dark Lord alive or dead?"

_"I don't know."_

"What did you do after the Dark Lord was defeated by Harry Potter?"

_"I ran. But Sirius came after me."_

"What happened when he caught up to you?

_"I started screaming that Sirius had betrayed James and Lily and then cut off one of my fingers and let it drop to the ground so it would be found later. Then I sent a Reducto into the street near me so that I could change into my Animagus form of a rat and escape in the confusion."_

"Did you know there was a gas main under the street when you cast your spell?"

_"No."_

"Do you know that twelve innocent Muggles were killed in the gas explosion?"

_"Not then, but I found out later."_

"Are you sorry they were killed?"

_"No. They were just Muggles. They weren't important."_

Amelia had to take a few moments to calm herself after the answer. She wanted to reach out and strangle the traitorous rat. Finally when she composed herself she asked. "Does anybody else have and questions for this…man?"

Everyone said no.

"Interrogation ends, 9:02 am."

The room was deathly silent. Nobody said a word for nearly a full minute. It was Scrimgeour who broke the silence. "Amelia, what do we do with this, thing" Indicating Pettigrew. "We can't put him in lockup of Fudge will find out."

"I was thinking about that Rufus while you were down getting Kingsley, and I have a solution. As Head of the DMLE I authorize you to use the Imperius

Curse. After Pettigrew is given the antidote to the Veritaserum, Imperio him, and make him change back into a rat. I'll keep him here in my office in the cage till we can set up a trial tomorrow."

Scrimgeour smiled. The solution had a certain poetic justice to it. "Kingsley, take the manacles off him, and then give him the antidote please." he told the other Auror.

Shackelbolt did as he was told and as soon as Pettigrew's eyes cleared, Scrimgeour pointed his wand at him and said "_Imperio._" Pettigrew's face went slack again. "Change into your Animagus form."

Pettigrew seemed to hesitate for a few moments, he was trying to fight the curse. But he really had no chance. Scrimgeour was a far more powerful wizard than he was. He changed. Rufus bent and scooped him up and dropped him back into his cage, and Amelia locked it again. Scrimgeour released the curse.

"The cage is unbreakable Mr. Pettigrew. I don't suggest you try changing or there will be a real mess in my office." She told the rat man. Then addressing the others in the room. "What happened in this office is not to leave this room. No one is to know, not even the leaders of _bird clubs. _Understood?"

Amelia asked, looking directly at Kingsley as she said the last part. He simply nodded. "Good. Now, everyone get back to work, and thank you."


End file.
